Luminescent Animosity
by aimeeshii
Summary: A rebellious student becomes unintentionally involved with a new teacher; a man who pries into his life with the excuse of caring for his education, not for his feelings. D18 1826 AU
1. Amphibian vs Carnivore

**Warnings: **this story will contain sexual situations.

**Beta'd by Hima-Alaya. **

_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明_****

Chapter One—Amphibian vs. Carnivore._  
>You will find me where it's quiet. Listen closely, listen closely.<em>

As a gentle breeze caressed Kyouya's pale face, he yawned lightly into his hand. His day almost seemed monotone; the hues and tones of each individual and situation he had been involved within being only boring. The only person that he had found a challenge, although it was somewhat, was the smaller male that was sitting beside him. The brunet raised a narrow eyebrow as he saw that Fran was close to falling asleep, too.

They were seated within the park, the small glow of the lampposts around them being the only other company. It wasn't lonely, though; the soft sound of their breathing was filling the air around them. As Kyouya averting his eyes from the green-haired male—who had apparently found the stars within the sky more interesting—he chose to shiver lightly to himself. Having clothed himself within a school uniform, the blazer hanging elegantly upon his shoulder with his tonfas hidden within, it wasn't the best choice for the time of year, nor the time of day. It was nearing the time for certain delinquents to appear, yet that wasn't why they were outside. If it was delinquents that they were after, Kyouya could hunt them down within a minute.

"Why was it you wanted to come to the park?" Kyouya asked, leaning back against the cold wood of the bench. The hairs on his arms were standing on end from the low temperature around them. The only indication that he had crossed his arms was the quietly shuffling of his white shirt before breathing replaced the noises again. "Amphibian," he pressed. _Why is he so quiet?_

"This is the first step of no return, _Senpai_." Fran gave the taller male a pointed look before straightening his shoulder, leaning back into the bench more. The breeze caressed the soft features of his face momentarily, the wind lifting his teal bangs to reveal his pale forehead. "You're actually outside; I'm impressed."

"I go outside daily." The brunet snorted, tilting his head to the side to get a better view of the other. Kyouya raised an eyebrow, waiting to see what to real reason was. It was ridiculous that they were out at that time of night, especially when nothing significant was happening; after all, they were merely perched upon a bench.

"Please, don't give me that look," the smaller male mock grimaced, turning his head away before crossing his ankles. Gently moving them, he gripped the wood of the bench while staring into the sky again, his expression still emotionless. "Someone might walk by and think you were trying to seduce me," he continued bluntly, "and convincing me to go home with you."

"Of course, I'll get you to go home with me," Kyouya replied, rolling his eyes. "You live with me." He was unaffected by Fran's attitude, though, if it were any happier he would've been worried. The green-haired male hardly showed emotions, only the occasional flicker within his teal irides. "You're not the type of person I'd spend time on to seduce."

For a few moments, they were silent again. The air around them suddenly became colder, but that could have just been the waft of air that travelled across Kyouya's shirt for an opening, finally finding one and caressing the soft skin of his neck. With the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, Kyouya shivered again.

As Fran was still silent, he tilted his head, peering at the brunet through his teal bangs.

"_Senpai_," he started softly, "have you ever gotten laid?" The question was abrupt enough to make Kyouya blink. He stared ahead of him incredulously, refusing to flicker his eyes to the left to check to see if Fran was serious about his question. Yet, it seemed like he was persistent. "_Senpai_," he whined monotonously.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Kyouya replied quickly, averting his eyes so he couldn't see the smaller male within his peripheral vision. _Like hell I'll tell him._

As the sounds of their breathing were barely audible again, Kyouya's finger twitched as he stared ahead.

The question was bound to come at any point, yet it still caught the brunet off guard. It was a common question at their age, random individuals querying each other with it. Kyouya had recently turned seventeen, Fran still left behind at the age of sixteen. They were supposed to have been sexually active, yet it didn't mean that Kyouya had experienced anything of the sort. His lips pulled down into a frown as he attempted to avoid the subject.

He was far too busy with his life to have thought about relationships—Fran didn't bother going outside to collect money often. If he did, it was a very rare occasion. They had been together for almost a decade, having learned each other's quirks within that time. Kyouya certainly wasn't related to Fran, but it was a relationship close enough to have been brothers, almost. Apart from the fact the green-haired male tended to attempt to annoy him more than anything else.

It had been that way for as long as he could remember; back when they were within the orphanage together, the first words they'd exchanged were insulting. They hadn't changed much, to Kyouya's own relief. He was fine with their relationship as it was.

"I'll take that as a no." Frank clicked his tongue quietly in disapproval as he nodded, his lips twitching upwards slightly. "I bet you'll never get laid at the rate you're going," the green-haired male commented condescendingly before standing up, adjusting his black coat in the process. Unlike Kyouya, Fran had strode into the park with the right type of clothing. "Come on, Virgin _Senpai_, we don't have all nig—"

"Fran," Kyouya hissed, his eyebrows slanted down in anger as he glared. The tresses of his black hair had fallen to partially hide his expression, but that didn't hide the scowl that was featured upon his face. "Are you trying to mock me?"

"No, why would I mock you?" Fran drawled sarcastically, pivoting upon his heel before his hands were shoved within his trouser pockets.

The brunet scowled to himself, eventually standing up as well as a gust of wind came by. His black jacket almost fell off of his shoulders, but he saved it quickly before delivering Fran a pointed look that clearly said he didn't want to hear about what had just happened. Fran always liked to be sarcastic with him, barely ever showing emotion; it annoyed Kyouya to no point when they were younger, but he quickly realized that it was a sign of strength, though somewhat. If the small male was able to mask his emotions for years on end, even making it so only the slightest twitch of his lips—when he was feeling generous—gave him away, he definitely had self control.

"This is pointless." Kyouya sighed, running his lithe fingers through his hair. "I'll leave you to freeze."

"Really? I see you're feeling generous." Fran whistled quietly, watching Kyouya walk away as he shook his head slowly. "Ignorant, _Senpai_."

"You've survived worse; you'll still be annoying me in the morning," Kyouya pointed out sardonically.

"Is that your way of telling me that you plan to wake up beside me in bed?" Fran raised an eyebrow.

The brunet stopped walking, stilling in all movements as he looked over his shoulder incredulously. With his eyebrows furrowed together, Kyouya stared at the smaller male, as if waiting for him to continue. When Fran kept his mouth shut, a sigh slipped through Kyouya's lips.

"No," Kyouya said bluntly. "It's my way of saying I can leave you alone."

"Of course you can, you can leave everyone alone." Fran snorted. "You don't have a social bone in your body."

Kyouya blinked before his lips curled into a smirk, eyes narrowing at the same time. "Oh?" he humoured the other.

The green-haired male nodded accordingly, eyeing Kyouya carefully as he walked away. "I bet you don't." He shrugged his shoulders dramatically, letting them fall back down to their previous position the next moment.

"What are you insinuating?"

"That your social skills are weak," Fran replied matter-of-factly.

"I'm not weak in any way," Kyouya defended himself, baring his teeth at the smaller male.

"Prove it," Fran taunted, titling his head to the side. Only a minuscule glint of amusement flashed within his teal irides before it was good. He thrust his hand into the air, gesturing to the street across from them. "Go _charm _someone with your badass social skills."

As Kyouya continued to stare at Fran, his eye twitched.

"I'll see you back at the apartment," The teal-haired male said, pushing himself forward to walk in front of Kyouya. "It's doesn't matter who," Fran proclaimed. As he walked ahead, he breathed slowly through his teeth. "It can be anyone."

Kyouya didn't bother looking over his shoulders to look back, he simply carried on the trudge forward. A challenge flashed within his eyes as he walked. Kyouya wasn't weak; he was going to prove that, no matter how dreary it would be to prove.

-x-

With his lips curled down into a frown, Kyouya turned the corner. It was an unwelcome reminder of the events that had happened last year; when Fran and Kyouya were within their first year of high school. The brunet was used to people not listening to him, sometimes defying, too, though he wasn't that much of a threat. He'd acquired a reputation through middle school from his attitude—it wasn't on purpose, of course, but it was merely because of his short tolerance for annoyance. When someone stepped out of line and uttered an inappropriate comment, he snapped.

When Kyouya was back within the orphanage, he had to make himself a figure of authority. Someone for other's not to cross; it was something that he had to do. When another within the home had had the nerve to kick Fran, Kyouya was there immediately to sort it out. Of course, that was back when they didn't know each other before. They weren't acquaintances, so when Kyouya had stepped forward and thrust his tonfa into the stranger's head, Fran had insulted him.

Kyouya shook his head, remembering back to their first meeting fondly. The green-haired male had guts, he had to admit that. His guts were only becoming more apparent over the years, too; the pair had inevitably become closer, somehow leaving the orphanage together and ending up within the same apartment. It wasn't as though they spent a lot of time together. Kyouya preferred to be alone while Fran was simply, well, himself.

As Kyouya walked across the road he sidestepped a stray couple that were in the way, he scanned the street in search of where to go. Fran wasn't specific about what he had challenged him to do—he simply said that he needed to prove he was sociable. Arching a dark eyebrow to himself, Kyouya continued walking, passing multiple shops. He peeked inside the ones that were lit up, deeming them inappropriate for his quest straight away.

When he'd walked down the whole street, Kyouya pivoted on his heel before scowling to himself.

_This is ridiculous. _"All I have to do is talk to someone, right?" he muttered, mostly to himself. Crossing his arms over his chest, he continued on to walk.

The sound of a laugh came from behind him as he had walked past another bar, Kyouya's body freezing when he heard the sound. It was easy to distinguish the laugh from the ones that other's possessed; that particular one was low, the sound far too creepy containing weird sounds to have been normal.

The laugh was too familiar, anger flowing through him immediately. Grinding his teeth together, Kyouya looked over his shoulder momentarily—to pinpoint the location of the person—before choosing to walk away quickly.

His strides were precise as he stepped into the nearest bar which had lights upon in, grimacing to himself as he could tell how crowded it was from the outside. He stared at the bouncer momentarily, noting that they had rather a lot of piercings on their face and a moustache before walking through the door.

It had to have been luck that the moustached man hadn't stopped him to show identification. Kyouya was a minor; someone who definitely should not have been inside a bar. He glanced down at his clothing, somewhat relieved that he had slipped on the black jeans instead of slacks as usual. A school uniform would've gave him away straight away, drawing more attention then should have been directed at him.

Clearing his throat quietly to himself, Kyouya scanned the room while trying to fight off a grimace. There were a few individuals who were alone, but there were couples, too. He tried not to show his disgust at that pairs that were hanging all over each other, languidly licking the length of their necks without respecting where they were. The brunet slid into the stool at the end of the bar, crossing his arms over his chest as he pondered over what he wanted to do. Proving that he could stay in there for a few hours without hurting someone should have been enough to prove to Fran that he was capable; if there were no police officers involved, he was okay.

Unintentionally Kyouya stiffened when the bartender cast a glance towards him. The brunet averted his eyes—not staring at the mohawk he had—choosing to stare at the bottles of liquor in front of him before partially moving his head. They had misinterpreted his action, though, placing a shot glass in front of Kyouya the next moment.

He raised an eyebrow to himself before picking up the glass within one hand, letting the liquid travel down his throat the next moment. He grimaced to himself, the liquid burning his throat slightly before he loudly placed the glass back down. He shuddered to himself, not enjoying the taste that it possessed before trying to get rid of it by swallowing his saliva.

Kyouya placed his elbow upon the bar, resting his chin in his hand while waiting for the time to go by. The best plan of action was to stay quiet, simply sitting at the bar while no one came up to him. That was for the best, he had internally decided.

Another shot was placed in front of him the next moment, Kyouya raising an eyebrow again before shrugging his shoulders. He'd never drank that much alcohol before; he didn't know what kind of effect it had on him. Before he internally mused about what kind of effects they were, the liquid was sliding down against his throat and making him feel somewhat dizzy. He blinked, the glass slammed down onto the bar again before shaking his head. The brunet decided that he wasn't weak enough for alcohol to knock him out; if anything, he welcomed the third shot of liquor that was slid in front of him.

When that shot was gone, though, the bartender placed another in front of him, that time speaking.

"It's from the blond-haired guy over there," he said, somewhat high-pitched while pointing to the corner of the room.

Kyouya blinked in surprise as the bartender walked away, turning his head to look towards where he had pointed. The brunet raised an eyebrow when he saw a man, his appearance that of someone within their early twenties. He grinned at Kyouya, showing the whites of his teeth before bringing the bottle of beer within his hand to his lips, taking a gulp of the liquid.

The brunet merely stared at him for a moment before turning back around in his seat. He had a small spout of dizziness, but with a shake of his head it was gone. He downed the shot, the glass being added to his collection before he rested his chin upon his hand again.

_I've been here more than half an hour, right? _Kyouya asked himself. God, time was starting to seem irrelevant at that point in time; almost like he couldn't comprehend how long he had been there. He glanced around the bar quickly for a clock, his expression becoming exasperated when he only caught sight of couples flirting. At least he hadn't walked into a bar that was supposed to be for one gender, that would've been more awkward.

The bartender with the mohawk eyed Kyouya after a few moments, raising an eyebrow when he saw that the brunet wasn't moving.

Just because someone had bought him a drink didn't mean Kyouya had to go out and say thank you. He certainly hadn't asked for someone to, as well, meaning it wasn't his priority to go out of his way to talk to them. He didn't know the blonde either. Shrugging his shoulders the brunet reached within his pocket, pulling out his phone to check the time.

"What time do you have to be back in heaven?" a low voice asked beside him.

Kyouya blinked in confusion, placing his phone back within his pocket before turning to his side. The male from before had seated himself within the free seat beside him. He was grinning, that time his white teeth standing out against the tanned shade of his skin. Kyouya raised an eyebrow as he took in the shade of blond that his hair possessed, the somewhat shaggy cut before the sienna irides, specially the small glint within them.

_Not worth my time, _Kyouya concluded, pivoting within his seat. He eyed the the empty glasses in front of him, the corner of his lips twitching up before he glanced at the male beside him again. It was a perfect set up; it seemed more than easy to attempt to swindle the blonde out of his money. Trying to see how many drinks he could get out of him, too, before he turned him down seemed like a good idea.

Half-heartedly trying to contain his smirk, Kyouya leaned forward to rest in his palm again.

"Not the talkative type, huh?" the blonde mused, arching an eyebrow. "I'm perfectly fine with that."

"Hn," Kyouya grunted lowly, the sound almost inaudible. Apparently the blonde had heard it though, his smile increasing as he rested one of his elbows onto the bar.

"I haven't seen you here before," the man mused, his eyes straying from Kyouya's face to look at his body. The brunet furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, mentally slapping himself when he realized what was happening. It was a violation, almost; he didn't like the way the man's eyes seemed to take in his appearance. "I'm sure I would've recognized you."

_I don't recognize you either, herbivore. _He wanted to say that sentence, yet Kyouya firmly kept his lips pursed. He knew almost everyone inside of Namimori; there was no doubt within his mind that he would've known the blonde. Even if he was older—definitely, by the fact he was inside of the bar—there was sure to have been a sign of him before.

"Well, I did only get here a few days ago." The man chuckled, taking another gulp from his bottle the next moment. "That could explain it."

_No shit. _Kyouya stared at him questionably, not trusting himself to open his mouth. There was the fact that he felt like he might have stumbled over his words, too. It must have been the alcohol that was within his body at that moment; if Kyouya had known that his tolerance for the liquid had been so low, he would've only pushed himself further. He frowned when he realized he had no drink left, all that was in front of him were the empty glasses from previously. Staring at the somewhat suspicious male beside him, who happened to be smiling still, the corner of the brunet's lips twitched. _Time to swindle him out of his money, _Kyouya decided.

As he opened his mouth to speak, the blonde cut him off. Kyouya blinked in surprise when the man grinned at him before rotating his head to speak to the bartender. "Can I have another drink for my friend, please?" he asked.

Kyouya didn't object when another shot was placed in front of him. He eyed the liquid distastefully for a second before accepting the silent challenge, placing the glass to his lips and swallowing quickly. With the aftertaste strong within his mouth, Kyouya scowled to himself before he heard the blonde laughing beside him. Although he shouldn't have reacted like he had, the brunet averted his eyes when he thought that man was mocking him. It was possible, though. After all, that was the first night that he had drank alcohol in such a quantity; he certainly hadn't engaged in any type of bet with Fran before with alcohol as the forfeit option.

"That's a pretty soft drink," the blonde commented, shuffling closing to Kyouya.

He grinned at him again, that time turning his head momentarily to move his light bangs out of his eyes. Kyouya could see a glint of mischief within the sienna irides, but he quickly chose to ignore that while trying to avoid narrowing his eyes. The man was within his personal space at that moment, their shoulders almost touching as the other showed no sign of discomfort.

"You look like you can deal with stronger." He shrugged his shoulders. "Looks can be deceiving, I guess."

_Fucking herbivore. _Kyouya gritted his teeth, keeping his lips firmly pressed together in denial.

If he didn't object, that man would assume that he had offended him, at least that was what he had hoped. If the brunet did what he wanted to—and that was reaching within his jacket and striking him in the head with his tonfa. The metal hitting against the man's temple and knocking him unconscious would've been pleasing; the smirk across Kyouya's lips would've only increased.

_I'll kill Fran later. _

"How rude of me," the blonde exclaimed, blinking innocently. "I forgot to introduce myself to you."

Kyouya blinked when a tanned hand was placed in front of him, the limb in the air obviously indicating that the man wanted him to shake it. Trying to fight back a groan, he eyed the lithe fingers distastefully.

"I'm Dino."

Pursing his lips together into a thin line with disdain, Kyouya eventually shook the blonde's hand. He narrowed his eyes when he saw that Dino was grinning more than previously before he realized what was expected of him. The brunet had to reveal his name, too, but his name was well known within the town.

Gaining a reputation from having delinquents piss him off too many times apparently wasn't a good thing. He didn't want the blonde to know who he really was, so while straining his jaw not to show his disgust, he had to give in.

"Kyouya," he admitted, inwardly grimacing that he couldn't give his last name.

"I'll make sure to remember it," Dino said huskily, "Kyouya."

Kyouya's frown increased; he didn't like the way his name seemed to fall of the other's tongue. Pressing his fingers onto the bar, gently tapping them against the material he tried to stray his attention. He'd assumed that doing so would keep his irritation at bay, too, along with the dizziness. From the last drink that he had consumed, his head was only starting to feel worse. _Like hell I'll let alcohol beat me, _he thought, _I can handle this fine. _

"You look a lot younger than you are," the blonde mused, not noticing that Kyouya had stiffened. "My tattoos give away my age."

"Tattoos?" Kyouya questioned, mentally slamming his head against an imaginary wall the next moment. His voice had shown the curiosity that had momentarily flashed through him, but it was enough to make the blonde's eyes light up.

"Yeah," Dino confirmed, eyeing the brunet with far too much interest. "You'll have to get a lot closer to me if you want to find out where."

When Dino winked at him, Kyouya wanted to pale. Instead his body chose to defy him, the sickening feeling of his face becoming hot apparent the next moment. He turned his head quickly, letting his ebony bangs fall into his eyes as he tried to ignore the male beside him. His reactions were getting out of hand.

The blonde whistled quietly beside him, taking a swig from his bottle afterwards. Dino smiled to himself when he let his eyes travel across the brunet's body, noting the thin waist he could roughly see from within the jacket.

His eyes snapped back up to the pale face when Kyouya cleared his throat.

Kyouya looked pointedly at the bottle of beer within the blonde's hand and then back to the shot glasses in front of him. "Why do you prefer that?" he asked, interest leaking into his voice. He had tasted beer before; it wasn't pleasant.

Dino smirked slowly, keeping eye contact with the brunet as he did so. "It's stronger," he proclaimed.

_It stills tastes disgusting. _Kyouya didn't voice his thought out, though, choosing to scrutinize Dino's expression for a few moments before he had to blink a few times, not expecting the sudden spout of dizziness.

"Would you like to try some?" Dino offered, gesturing to the bottle that he had placed upon the table.

Almost immediately, Kyouya shook his head. He wasn't going to share anything with the male beside him, certainly not when his lips had been upon it, too.

"Okay," the blonde said slowly, "I'll buy you a drink instead."

Before he could protest, although it would have been only momentarily, Dino had called over the bartender again. He ordered the beer quickly, exchanging a mischievous grin with the male before turning back to face Kyouya.

When the bottle was settled down in front of the brunet, he frowned. "I'm not paying you for this."

"I don't want you to." Dino laughed before continuing to talk, his voice possessing a husky tone. "I wouldn't mind if you repaid me in another way though."

Kyouya blinked incredulously, not realizing how close the blonde had gotten to him before he felt Dino's fingers brushing a stray strand of hair behind his ear. He furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding the action or the implications behind his words. After realizing that his thinking was becoming sluggish Kyouya gulped before reaching for the bottle in front of him. He drank heartily, regretting it when half of the liquid was gone as he tried to hold back a cough. Placing the bottle down loudly upon the bar, he stared at the blonde beside him while trying not to reveal the distaste he was feeling within his expression.

Dino merely raised an eyebrow, whistling lowly again before leaning one of his elbows onto the bar. "I guess I doubted you." He beamed. "You're only impressing me more, Kyouya."

"Don't doubt me again, Herbivore," Kyouya demanded, pressing his lips into a thin line when he realized he'd unintentionally drawled his words. The derogatory name had slipped through as well, the word replacing the blonde's name in defiance. He didn't want to say it aloud; just like Dino was saying his own. It seemed to intimate for strangers.

"Herbivore?" the blonde questioned, the corner of his lips twitching. "That's an interesting choice of words."

"Oh?" Kyouya raised an eyebrow.

"Would you like to test out whether or not I'm a herbivore?" Dino asked, grinning wickedly as he stared at the brunet's face.

In return, Kyouya blinked in mirth. His lips curled into a smirk when he'd processed Dino's comment, taking it the implications behind it wrongly. He'd assumed that it meant that the blonde had wanted to fight him; that he wanted to prove he was strong rather than weak.

As Dino saw that Kyouya had become somewhat more interested than before, he chuckled lowly under his breath.

_Can I consider him charmed if he wants to fight with me? _Kyouya internally mused. _It's not like I started it. _He'd lost track of time at that point; not reaching within his pocket to check his phone.

With a small shrug, he reached for his drink, gulping the rest of the liquid before inwardly grimacing. The taste was still displeasing, especially when it lingered upon his tongue. He'd shut his eyes for a moment, stopping the spout of dizziness that came over him again.

"Kyouya," Dino whispered directly into his ear, "are you okay?"

Kyouya pulled away quickly, eyes widening when he realized that he had been resting upon Dino's shoulder. He couldn't remember how he had got there, but quickly cursed under his breath at the alcohol. His movements felt somewhat slower, the thoughts inside of his head becoming erratic. _Fuck sake, _he internally groaned.

He didn't resist when Dino's fingers slipped into his hair, his thumb pressing against his jaw. Kyouya gulped as Dino leaned in closer, making it so his breath splashed across his face.

"Either you're intoxicated or I'm too much for you."

Kyouya pulled back quickly, watching as Dino's hand fell back down by his side. He tried to ignore the fact that his face felt hotter, most likely because it was from the lack of personal space between them.

"I'm fine," he lied, "I slipped." The brunet winced slightly from having to admit to a weakness, no matter how small it was.

As Dino hummed beside him, Kyouya could feel his eyes on his face. His skin prickled where they were directed, the small shudder that was sent down his spine clearly indicating that he was becoming affected by the gaze.

"This is nothing," Kyouya lied through his teeth.

"It is?" queried Dino, raising an eyebrow.

The brunet bit down onto his lip, not trusting himself to speak again only to find out his words were slurred. Dino grinned briefly at him, Kyouya taking it as his chance to close his eyes for a few moments as he called the bartender over again. He snapped his eyes open when the sound of a drink being put down on the bar came again. He played it off as though he hadn't closed them at all, scowling when he saw Dino laugh quietly.

Kyouya stared down at the shot glass, that time the liquid amber in colour.

"As I said before, I don't want you to pay," Dino said lowly, his voice making the hairs on the back of Kyouya's neck stand up. "Consider it a present."

"I've done nothing to deserve a present," Kyouya said, but his slurred words didn't hold the impact that he had wanted. He frowned to himself, not moving from his seat when Dino moved closer. He could clearly feel feel the other's breath splashing across his face, yet he didn't budge. It wasn't that he didn't want to; rather, it was the dizziness that hit him again.

"That's besides the point." Dino beamed, his appendage darting out from between his lips the next moment to moisten them. "It's a thanks for keeping me company."

Kyouya's eyebrows both became raised, his better judgement kicking in so he didn't believe the words. _Does that mean I'm being good company? _he had to ask himself, smirking slightly from the ridiculous thought.

It had to have been the alcohol that had got the better of him. "Do you consider yourself charmed?"

Dino blinked, his eyelids momentarily covering the amused glint within his sienna irides. "Quite," he said slowly.

When he'd processed the blonde's words, Kyouya smirked in victory. He had barely had to do anything; the main thing was having to keep his temper under control. As he tried to recall what exactly he had done, his head started to throb. He pressed his index finger to his temple, trying to stop the slightly painful throbbing that was being produced. Hissing under his breath, Kyouya closed his eyes.

"Hey," Dino called, his voice becoming husky again. "I think you've had enough."

_Had enough of you, _Kyouya thought dryly. "No."

Dino's mouth was next to ear the next moment; the brunet could almost feel his lips pressed against his cartilage from the hair that had fallen forward.

As Dino spoke again, a shiver ran down Kyouya's spine. He mentally groaned when he felt an uncomfortable feeling become present within his stomach.

"Kyouya," Dino whispered huskily.

The brunet frowned to himself, trying to fight back the heat that was spreading across the flesh of his cheekbones. The way his name was being said was far too intimate; even more than before. It was as though the blonde had known him longer that a few hours—the estimated time that Kyouya had guessed they'd known each other.

The next moment Kyouya could feel Dino biting down softly onto the top of his ear. He groaned quietly under his breath, not enjoying the odd jolt that shot through him. He refused to move; to show weakness any more than he already had. He wasn't particularly in pain, though, it was more a feeling that he couldn't place. He put down onto his bottom lip when Dino gently trailed his lips across his ear, taking his earlobe into his mouth the next moment.

If Dino's actions were supposed to have been similar to a test for Kyouya, he was surely going to fail. He bit down harder on his lip, trying to stop the feeling within his stomach as he felt Dino's teeth trailing across his cartilage again. When he blew lightly on the moistened skin, Kyouya shuddered, trying to contain the moan at the back of his throat.

As he realized what kind of noise almost escaped his lips, Kyouya moved away from the blonde quickly. He'd forgotten about what the alcohol he had consumed and the effect that it had on his body, though; meaning that as he shuffled away, he had forgotten that he was seated upon a stool. His backside slipped off of the seat, his momentarily opening as he went to fall onto the floor as his actions were delayed.

Before Kyouya could properly comprehend what had happened to him, he was aware of the arms wrapped around his waist, also the fact that he was still standing. His head had been pressed into Dino's chest, making him finally realize how much smaller he was compared to him. Kyouya blinked incredulously as he tried to detach himself from the older male, yet it didn't work. Instead another spout of dizziness became apparent.

"I think you need to lie down for a bit," Dino commented lowly. "Do you want to come to my place?"

**AN: **This is a collab between Kuro (Kurosawa-Kun) and myself. She's writing the Fran lines while I'm doing everything else. Thank you for agreeing to do this story with me! A _huge _thank you to Aki, Demu and Hima for suggesting Dino lines, haha. I'm hopeless at writing him.

I'd like you to vote who ends up with Kyouya in the end, too. Just say who within a review, please. Votes so far are:

Dino: 16 / Fran: 8


	2. Codename: Coffee

**Kurosawa-Kun: **You're a perfect Fran, shush, child. Sorry for basically ignoring you today, too, not really in the best of moods. ;; Don't hate me. **Reni-is-ishida: **Got your vote added! Yeah, my first time reading 1826 as well haha. Thank you! **Phoenix of Starlight: **Sorry for writing so much D18 lol. If you despite D18, scroll down to the first page break you see, therefore your eyes won't get scarred. I don't want to scare you away from this. I love 1826, too, since I think Fran's attitude is great for Kyouya. 8D Added your vote to the Fran lot. **ZirciX: **Haha, thank you muchly! D18 is rather amazing, I agree. **18plusForMe: **Will you vote later on? :D Unfortunately Dino had double the votes of Fran lol. I don't think he's loved. It's all good! **Sugar Dawn: **Added in your vote! Aww, thank you. :D I hope Fran is to your liking, I don't really know him. ;; **anonymous: **Added in your vote! I never thought I'd see one, too, so I thought I'd write it first! 8D Ah, Dino sounded creepy? I tried to make readers like him in this chapter. I hope it worked. ;; **Imitation Angel: **1826 is amazing, Daughter. You're just a bit crazy. LOL. It's Dino-centric in this chapter, but Fran has some amusing lines? :D I hoe you enjoy~ **FancyMittens: **Added your vote in! Aww, can't you give Kyouya and Fran a chance? ;; Don't break apart their non-existent love already! Dino's always gotta be lame. c: **Eyes17k:** Dino didn't know that Kyouya was a minor! ;; He didn't _know, _Eyes, he didn't _knooow_! -shakes you hysterically- **Lynne-chan: **I'm not a shipper of whatever the heck Bel/Fran is. I like Kyouya/Fran together, so that's how I'm going to keep it, ahurr. Glad you like it, though. ;; **MOnO.13: **Aww, thank you, Mono! That means a lot. :D Huhuhu, Dino does do what I told you about~ Let the lemon _begin_! **naiYin: **Hi sexy. **NothingIcanSay: **So cute when he's drunk. ;; -fawns over image- Aww, thank you! Truthfully, it's my first time using Fran in a story. :o Added your vote! **wowiddin'tlogindammit: **Added your vote in for Dino, person who forgot to log in. ^^ **mpiedz: **Added your vote! Thanks! :D **TruancyCity: **Ahh, unintentional. Sorry if he's far too stubborn! ;; I'll _make _you see the chemistry between Kyouya and Fran soon. Just you wait. **Behan: **A drunk player! :D Added your vote in! Thank you for the lovely review~ Made me smile like an idiot. c: **Traum-Alptarum: **Added your vote in! Haha, I love D18, too, but my favourite will always be Kyouya/Bluebell. :D

**Dedicated to naiYin.  
>Beta'd by Takigawa Aki.<br>**

_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明 _

Chapter Two—Codename: Coffee  
><em>Instinct then comes out, all by itself, with no regrets, we recall.<em>

"It's just around the corner," the blonde said happily, keeping the smaller body beside him close. His arms had soon become wrapped around the smaller body, his smile larger than before, too.

Luck had to have been on his side, since not only did he find himself a good catch, he seemed far too innocent. It might have been a charade—after all, Dino concluded, only someone who knew what they were getting themselves into would waltz into a bar.

The moment that Kyouya had walked in, Dino had blinked. He had been sat in the corner of the room as before, simply enjoying himself sipping on a few drinks. They quenched his thirst, drowning out the nerves that were in the pit of his stomach. With every substance that he had consumed, Dino's mind had become clearer, in a sense. He was able to think properly and at that point in time, precisely when Kyouya had walked in, he threw common sense over his shoulder. He was intoxicated, for sure, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun. The fact that the smaller male was legal, tempting and easy to persuade—so it seemed to Dino at that moment—was even better. He grinned to himself, securing his hold around the brunet's waist.

There had been a light blush across Kyouya's cheeks from the moment he had entered his personal space. Instead of being fleeting, the colour was deepening at random intervals, sometimes spreading across his face, too.

"Really," he tried to say soothingly, the grin upon his lips, "it's only a few minutes. You'll have to walk up some stairs."

"I'm fine," Kyouya muttered beside him, half-heartedly attempting to move away from Dino's embrace.

For his heart to skip a beat from the action, Dino supposed to he had had far too much to drink. The fact that he wasn't stumbling over his words while in the presence of someone like the brunet beside him was another point; there were a few, all adding up to the conclusion that his thinking was lagging. _Good thing my words aren't slurred, _he mentally mused.

With his arm still wrapped around the younger male's waist, Dino changed their direction abruptly—causing Kyouya to stumble, although it was only for a few moments—before beaming more than before. "Sorry," he apologized lowly. "We almost passed it by accident."

The blond-haired male opened the door to the apartment complex quickly, taking in the sight of his own reflection, immediately noticing how Kyouya was blinking beside him while peering in. They passed through the glass door quickly, despite the tangle that their legs had become at one point. The usual lack of coordination had disappeared from Dino, therefore him, for once, being on the receiving end of clumsiness. He'd quickly realized that Kyouya didn't have a high tolerance for alcohol. If it wasn't obvious from the few shots of liquor that he had seen him consume, the subtle slurring of his words were a direct give away.

"I told you, I'm fine."

Dino hummed to humour the smaller male, pleased that he hadn't attempted to move away from him again. The blonde quickly led him through the entrance, flashing a peace sign briefly at a passing neighbour he had met shortly before he had moved to town.

His best choice, by far, since moving to Namimori had to have been going to the bar that night. He had been coaxed to go the night before with an old friend, yet they hadn't turned up the night after. Instead of being stood up, though, it seemed Dino had better things to do.

"Would you like to come up for some coffee?" he finally asked wryly.

Apparently the brunet didn't get the hidden intention. He blinked for a moment, obscuring Dino's view of the obsidian irides that Dino had come to like, before nodding slowly.

As they ascended the stairs, Dino opted with clasping Kyouya's right hand tightly while leading him up. The younger male didn't protest, instead gripping back at random points, which Dino assumed were when his balance was being tested. For some reason or another, when the blonde consumed alcohol, his whole demeanour would change. _It's good to have now. _He nodded his head in approval to his thoughts.

It was only a few minutes later, with Kyouya mumbling something that the blonde couldn't make out well, before Dino was tugging his keys out of his back pocket. The door of his apartment opened soundlessly, the only noises around them being their breathing. Dino could feel his heart beating uncomfortably within his chest as he tugged on the brunet's hand, pulling him inside of the entrance before the door was closed again.

As he gulped, he finally let go of Kyouya's hand, letting it fall down to his side. Dino ran his fingers through his hair briefly, observing the smaller male with interest. Kyouya wasn't glancing towards him; instead he was scrutinizing his apartment through narrowed eyes, as if trying to deem it appropriate to step inside or not. When they made eye contact, Dino's smile was sheepish.

Kyouya came out with a question after a few moments. "Aren't you supposed to be getting coffee?"

From the direct question, Dino could feel his own cheeks heat up as he stared at the younger male. He hadn't expected that kind of reaction from being taken inside—it surely meant that it was okay to continue, despite his half-hearted attempts at seducing the male back within the bar.

"Sure." Dino's smile became lopsided. "It'll be my pleasure."

As Kyouya saw the blonde take a step closer to him, he blinked.

"I think it's best if you come with me, though," Dino continued lowly, his sienna irides becoming bright with mischief. "I don't know how you like your _coffee_." He had paused for a moment, grinning wickedly at the smaller male before taking a step towards him.

The brunet eyed him for a moment, yet when he took a slow step towards the blond, Dino grinned in victory to himself. It was far easier than he could have anticipated, so it was surely from Kyouya openly accepting his advances. He thought it would've been harder, possibly involving more alcohol, too. The brunet seemed open to it, perfectly fine with the situation, especially since he had accepted his offer.

Dino was surprised when he couldn't grasp his hand again, though. He blinked before pulling back, raising an eyebrow at the action before identifying what kind of reaction it was.

Positive—Kyouya was blushing again.

He turned around, making a show of walking out of the entrance hallway of the apartment before turning into the living room. The style was minimalistic, a monotone colour scheme throughout. It had been the previous owner's preference; Dino had only moved in recently, meaning he hadn't had time to decorate. Sorting out his life first—no matter what aspect of it—seemed more important. He could hear Kyouya trailing behind him, his footsteps softer than before, indicating that he had shown enough respect to remove his shoes despite his drunken state. Dino glanced down at his own feet, staring at his shoes that were still on, before raising an eyebrow.

"How do you want it, by the way?" Dino asked, his voice low and full of implications.

When he heard a low thud behind him, he blinked. The blonde turned around quickly, mild surprise taking over his expression before he had masked it as he took in the sight before him. Kyouya had apparently fallen over while attempting to walk normally; from the hand that was pressed firmly against the wall and then the other that was on the floor pushing him up again, it was obvious.

A laugh made its way out of Dino's mouth. "Are you okay?" he asked, taking a step forward while extending his arm in front of him, offering his hand to the younger male.

Kyouya batted his hand away quickly, pushing himself up before sticking his chin in the air with indignation. Dino raised an eyebrow at the action, not taking it badly, before taking a step forward. He'd taken the response as a blunt one, conveyed solely through his actions instead.

"You sure?" the blonde asked lowly, watching the smaller male in interest. The brunet was only depending on him at random intervals, never actually admitting the fact aloud. Dino shrugged it off of his shoulders, finding it ridiculous for someone to have trusted a stranger straight away. Even if the brunet was cute, he was sure they weren't going to meet again. _But that's no reason to treat him badly, _he concluded. "I think you really do need to lie down for awhile; I'll make the coffee when you're ready."

Time seemed to drag on until Kyouya eventually answered. "Okay," he said reluctantly, avoiding eye contact as he acknowledged that the blonde was right.

A small smile of victory blossomed upon Dino's face before he grabbed the brunet's hand, ignoring the hiss of protest before walking towards his bedroom. There was only one bedroom within the apartment—convenient, at that moment—meaning there was only one place they were going to go. He intertwined their fingers, noting how soft Kyouya's skin was apart from the calluses, before humming under his breath.

"Herbivore, wait," Kyouya said from behind him, Dino only humming in response before smiling over his shoulder. For Kyouya to blink as a reaction instead of saying anything else was surprising, yet he gladly welcomed it. Lightly squeezing his hand, the blonde quickly dragged him inside of the room. He didn't bother shutting the door, though, simply leaving it wide open as he turned around that time.

Kyouya was eyeing him cautiously, suspicion clear across his face as he stared. Dino's smile only increased as they were face to face, their fingers still intertwined while the blonde's free one went up to tangle itself in the mess of black hair upon his head.

As he moved closer to whisper into the brunet's ear, Dino was surprised to see his eyes widen, revealing his obsidian irides fully. "You can trust me," he said quietly, his lips skimming against Kyouya's cartilage. He held back the urge to bite down onto his ear, much like he did earlier. Dino soon let go of Kyouya's hand, letting his fingers skim across the top of the brunet's trousers. As he took his earlobe gently into his mouth, the blonde's fingertips pressed against the bare skin of Kyouya's abdomen.

To his surprise, Kyouya didn't protest his movements. He seemed to have frozen still as Dino gently glided his hand up, his fingers skimming over his stomach for a few moments. As the blonde's fingers were gradually trailing upwards, Dino slipped his leg in between Kyouya's, pushing him back abruptly to make his back hit against the wall.

Kyouya looked up at him in confusion, Dino only smiling before applying light kisses to his jaw line, slowly coaxing the brunet to relax against his body. It didn't work, though, since he only tensed up more.

"It's okay," Dino reassured him quietly, nipping at his jaw. His fingers soon found what they were looking for, lightly trailing over the male's left nipple. Kyouya froze as Dino heard him gasp quietly to himself, the nub hardening from the subtle movement. The blonde blinked, pausing for a moment before continuing on to kiss the flesh of his neck. Marks were gently being littered across the skin, just as his nail slowly skimmed across the nub. "I'll be gentle."

When Kyouya released a low groan, Dino grinned against his neck, rewarding him by biting down on the skin roughly above his jugular. He moaned softly at the feeling, relaxing against the wall, finally, before he allowed Dino's leg to press further against his own. By the movement the blonde's thigh was able to press against his growing arousal, fuelling the reactions from the younger male. He grinned to himself in victory, pleased with the noises that were being produced until he felt a hand fall onto his chest.

Dino pulled away from his neck, looking down curiously at the lithe fingers that were pushing against his shirt. He raised an eyebrow as he met Kyouya's gaze, noticing the defiance that was reflected within the obsidian irides. He pushed against his chest again, trying to make Dino move backwards, yet he wasn't strong enough to do so.

"This isn't coffee," Kyouya grunted, keeping his hand firmly on the other's chest. Dino observed that he was trying to keep him at least an arm's length away; it wasn't working at all. His leg was still in between the brunet's, lightly pressed against his arousal. As if to prove his point, he gently moved his leg up, watching in fascination as Kyouya's expression became strained.

As the brunet's blush increase, Dino said lowly, "This will taste better."

Before Kyouya was given a chance to reply—what he wanted to do, apparently, since he'd opened his mouth to respond—Dino had cut him off by softly placing his lips onto his. The blonde moved them slowly at first, sliding the hand within the black tresses further, curling the strands around his fingers while tilting the smaller male's head up. Kyouya had frozen up from the contact again, alerting Dino that he was most likely not used to being touched. As his fingertips followed the same course of direction as before, slowly trailing his nail over the brunet's nipple, he ran his appendage languidly across his bottom lip.

As soon as Kyouya opened his mouth, Dino felt him relax. His hand dropped from pushing against Dino's chest, instead lowering to grip the material of his shirt. In return, the blonde thrust his appendage inside forcefully, making a moan build at the back of the brunet's mouth, before trailing his hand down from his chest. Pulling the smaller male closer, he snaked his arm around his waist, crushing their abdomens together before distracting him with a deeper kiss.

Kyouya was responding positively, moaning repetitively and leaning into the blonde's embrace. Dino could tell that he was probably going too far, his thigh confirming the fact that the other was aroused. He might have been moving too swiftly, coaxing the other into bed far too early, yet his reactions were only making the situation better. If anything, he was the one being tempted. Rubbing against a sensitive part inside the smaller male's mouth, he was rewarded with a low groan, the noise sending a shiver down his spine.

He broke away a moment later, grinning in victory as he saw the bond of liquid rest upon the brunet's swollen lips. Dino placed a chaste kiss on them quickly before leaning down, pushing the male's shirt up. Kyouya gripped his shoulders as Dino sank down, slowly littering marks over his chest, just like he had earlier to his neck.

Taking the hardened nub into his mouth, the blonde hummed in quiet victory as he heard the moan that was produced. It was breathier than before, the younger male's face painted a shade of red. One of his hands had found its way to play with the yellow tresses of his hair, almost as if he was trying to distract him from the situation. To regain Kyouya's attention, Dino bit down onto his nipple, earning another small gasp before the fingers within his hair tugged harder, silently telling him to stop it.

In return Dino grasped his arms, securing his hold on Kyouya's wrists before pinning them against the wall. He looked up, only briefly, to identify Kyouya's reaction, surprised to see that the brunet was biting on his bottom lip, staring down at him.

_Is he trying to tempt me more? _Dino thought before grinning slowly, a mischievous glint becoming present in his sienna irides. He leaned forward again, taking the same nipple into his mouth before biting down onto the nub. Kyouya's body jerked forward for a moment as he muffled his moan, his breaths becoming heavier as Dino slowly trailed his appendage over.

He wasn't resisting after that; instead the volume of his moans increasing as Dino bit down again. The reactions were only positive, Kyouya's expressions even more lustful every time that Dino happened to glance up to see how well his actions were going. Apparently the brunet was a good catch, though, the defiance still sparking back within his obsidian irides before it was extinguished by his growing arousal.

To his own surprise, Dino raised himself back up to his full height before grabbing hold of the smaller male. Securing his arms around him, he made sure the brunet's legs were wrapped around his hips before leaning forward to kiss his neck again. Kyouya didn't resist, instead straining his neck to allow better access, letting out a hum of approval from the actions. Dino slowly walked backwards—allowing himself to have faith in his drunken coordination—before perching himself upon the end of the bed.

Kyouya's legs were stretched out as he sat firmly upon the blonde's lap, his hands once again clutching onto his shoulders. Dino beamed at him, raising his hand to brush the ebony strands out of the way of his expression. As he moved his hand, though, he was surprised to see Kyouya jerk himself away. Instead of just doing that, the brunet succeeded in falling on the floor again, a low grunt escaping his mouth as he winced.

Dino tried to contain a laugh, but it escaped when he saw Kyouya scowl to himself. He stretched his hand out in front of him in offering and good humour.

"If you really wanted to be down there, you didn't have to attempt to trick me," he said, his voice somewhat husky. Kyouya blinked in return, watching curiously as Dino's smile became lopsided. He was still perched on the end of the bed, his feet firmly placed upon the floor as Kyouya shifted. "I did say I'd give you something that would taste better."

When he realized that Kyouya wasn't going to grasp his hand, the blonde chuckled under his breath before leaning forward. He rested one of his arms upon his knee, noticing that Kyouya hadn't attempted to get up completely yet.

"Kyouya," Dino called lowly while reaching forward for him. His hand fell upon the black tresses, his fingers intertwining with the strands quickly as he pulled the brunet forward. He glanced up at Dino in confusion, blinking when he saw that he was smiling softly before moving his free hand. "Why don't you try this?" he suggested, his fingers tugging upon the zip of his trousers the next moment.

The blonde hadn't looked down to see Kyouya's expression, simply pushing his head forwards before biting down upon his lip. He was relieved that the brunet wasn't overreacting, rather, he was looking at his arousal in interest as Dino pulled his boxers down. With his member clear in view, Dino watched while Kyouya's expression became confused before he pulled him closer again.

"Trust me," he purred.

It took a few moments for Kyouya to move his head by himself. Dino smiled to himself in triumph, trying not to groan aloud when he felt a tentative lick applied to his tip. He gripped the ebony hair more, attempting to guide the brunet where he wanted him to go. It was obvious at that point how inexperienced the smaller male was—from the small licks that were applied to his member to the clumsy movements. It seemed as though he was scared of taking him fully into his mouth, though, purposely avoiding doing such a thing. Dino bit down onto his bottom lip, hard but not enough to break the skin, while twitching from feeling Kyouya's breath splashing across his member. Languidly licking the length, Dino watched as Kyouya closed his eyes, as if absorbing himself within his actions.

The innocent licks were proving to be more teasing than Dino had anticipated; with his fingers twisting around the black strands of hair, he tried to contain a moan. When the brunet finally, after what seemed like minutes on end, moved to attempt to take most of his member into his mouth, Dino's teeth bit down harder on his lip. The angle mixed in with the sensations he was feeling were enough to make him groan under his breath, yet mixed in with the imagery of a blushing brunet, too, it was almost too much. From the way the younger male retreated too quickly, choosing to slowly lick from his base to the tip instead, it was obvious how inexperienced he was. It was still appealing, though, Dino concluded, one of his hands falling behind him, groping the covers as he leaned back. His heartbeat had sped up from before, breaths becoming heavier.

Closing his eyes as a shiver ran down his spine, Dino murmured, "Kyouya."

In response, Kyouya himself moaned softly, causing a small set of vibrations to appear while he was slowly moving his mouth again. Dino furrowed his eyebrows, feeling his member twitch within the brunet's mouth, before groaning lowly again. With one hand still wrapped within the black hair, he kept his head firmly in place as he released.

Dino could clearly feel that his face had become warmer, so when he opened his eyes he was relieved to see that the brunet's was far more scarlet. He was still perched on the floor in front of him, that time wiping his mouth with the back of his hand while avoiding eye contact, as if denying that such a thing had just happened.

The blonde grinned to himself before leaning down, securing hold of the smaller male's chin before twisting his head to face him. It was amusing to see Kyouya panic, albeit only slightly; from the way his blush had increased from the sudden eye contact to his eyes widening, revealing his obsidian irides more.

"How was it?" Dino asked, swiping his thumb across Kyouya's swollen lips.

When he chose to look off to the side again, Dino chuckled lowly. With a flick of his hands, he pushed the black jacket off of the brunet's shoulders, raising an eyebrow only briefly at how loud the thud it produced was. He helped Kyouya to stand up quickly, pulling him back to sit within his lap the next moment. He was still looking off to the side, refusing to look Dino in the face as his hands roamed over his body. Reaching for the buttons that were securing the white shirt upon the brunet's body, Dino let his lips connect with his neck again. Gently nipping at the skin, he made it so he could run his hand over the pale skin before him, his mouth trailing down to place brief kisses across the thin collarbone within his view.

The shirt soon joined the jacket on the floor, Dino's fingers reaching for the brunet's trousers the next moment. He was surprised, though, when a pair of pale hands were placed on top of his; him finally realizing how tanned his skin was compared to the smaller male's.

"No," Kyouya protested, pushing his hands away. They finally made eye contact, Dino raising an eyebrow in curiosity when he saw the other's expression. He looked determined for some reason, his hand slipping from Dino's as he reached down himself. "I'm not being the only one like this," he murmured, yet the blonde was able to catch his words, despite their low volume.

He didn't protest when Kyouya tugged on his shirt, pulling it over the blonde's head before throwing it on the ground beside them. As they stared at each other, Dino snaking his hand into Kyouya's hair again and pulling him down for a chaste kiss, before noticing the determined expression was still upon his face. He shifted within his lap and pressed against Dino's arousal on what seemed like on purpose. He groaned for a moment, resisting the urge to close his eyes again before he saw the brunet smirk.

_Not as innocent as I thought, _Dino thought happily, smiling softly in return. "If that's what you want," he purred.

Dino was relieved that he wasn't rejected as his fingers slowly made their way down the brunet's torso. If anything, Kyouya was watching his hands move languidly, teasingly, while Dino tried to contain a chuckle. He could tell that the other was impatient; from the subtle grinding within his lap to the growing arousal that was pressing against him.

"Patience isn't always a bad thing," the blonde whispered against his neck, his fingers swiftly removing the younger male's belt. It hit the floor loudly, Dino arching an eyebrow when Kyouya's hands were soon on his shoulders again, that time holding onto his bare skin. As he bit down onto the flesh of his neck, the brunet ran his nails across his shoulders. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you hated this."

When he heard Kyouya's voice again, Dino could feel the blush coming back onto his face. It was breathier than before, his arousal unmasked. "I do," he rasped, the subtle grinding of his hips contradicting his words.

"Would you prefer it if I left this untouched?" Slowly trailing one of his finger across the brunet's clothed member. He heard the sharp intake of breath as he moved, languidly licking the length of his neck at the same time. "You're craving my attention," he pointed out, biting down onto his skin the next moment. Hearing Kyouya moan, though he had tried to muffle the noise, was enough to send a small shiver down his spine. "Do you really wish to go unsatisfied?"

Kyouya's hand soon grasped his, pulling it away from his lower half. "Herbivore," he murmured.

Dino raised an eyebrow in return, leaning back on one of his hands as he was curious about what the brunet was going to do. Both of his eyebrows became raised when he felt lips gently brushing against his neck, in an area he knew too well.

"What happened to being shy?" Dino asked huskily, amused by his actions. Kyouya had busied himself by choosing to trail his tongue across his tattoos, finally being able to see them properly since the blonde's shirt had been removed. A hum of approval left his throat when the smaller male's hand soon ran through his blond hair, entangling his fingers within the tresses. "Not that I don't like this."

A small hiss of displeasure left his mouth soon after from having received a bite. It was harder than he'd anticipated, yet as he felt Kyouya smirk against his neck, he chose to laugh quietly to himself. _I won't mention him being shy then, _he decided. Dino almost laughed when Kyouya froze on top of him. It was an almost innocent movement that had caused him to do so; all the blonde had done was let his hands trail down his back slowly, falling down to grope his backside the next moment. The brunet bit into his neck again in disapproval, causing a small shudder to run down his spine. More than anything else, it was only fuelling his movements more.

"I can tell that your patience is wearing thin," Dino murmured, adjusting his hands for a moment; "shall we speed this up?"

Kyouya wasn't given a chance to respond. Instead Dino moved quickly, grinning to himself as he placed the younger male onto the bed beside him. The surprise that flashed across his face was worth it. He climbed onto the bed as well, watching as confusion flashed within his obsidian irides. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing special," the blonde replied huskily, his fingers reaching out to pull down Kyouya's zipper. He was surprised when he was met with no resistance while slowly pulling his trousers off, his teeth gently nipping at the pale thighs in front of him. They were soft and apparently sensitive, Dino had concluded from the quiet gasps that were escaping Kyouya's lips. The trousers soon joined the rest of their clothing afterwards, Dino discarding his own in the process, along with his underwear. Sliding his hand up one of the brunet's legs, his touches teasing as they trailed across his inner thigh, he asked, "Would you like your reward now?"

The answer he received only made a low chuckle escape his lips. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Nothing, nothing."

When he placed his hand on top of the brunet's clothed arousal, he was surprised to see him react as positively as he had. Arching his back slightly, Kyouya bit down onto his lip while he closed his eyes, his hands curled into fists around the duvet below him. He wasn't protesting the blonde's action at all, if anything he was pressing his member further into his hand. Taking his time, Dino slowly trailed his nail upwards until he was fiddling with the waistband of his boxers. Kyouya lifted his lower half up, allowing the last article of clothing to hit the floor in a matter of seconds.

"One moment," he uttered, pushing himself up from the bed. The blonde quickly searched through a drawer nearest to him, beaming to himself when he found what he was looking for.

He carried the small bottle back to the bed, raising an eyebrow when he noticed that Kyouya hadn't attempted to push himself up. He crawled onto the mattress again, trying to reassure the other silently that he wasn't up to anything suspicious. His movements were supposed to be reassuring, from the soft touches to small kisses. He could have been a lot worse, yet Dino knew he didn't have it in him to do it. Humming under his breath, he coated his fingers thoroughly in the liquid, ignoring the curious stare on his face.

Dino leaned down after that, capturing the brunet's lips to distract him from what was to come. As his appendage was allowed inside, he softly trailed one of his hands across the younger male's bare backside. He caused the other to moan softly from the kiss before tentatively pushing a digit into his entrance, trying hard not to make him freeze up. Kyouya jerked away from the kiss quickly, the bond of saliva between them breaking, before he glowered up at him.

"Wha—" Kyouya had started, cutting himself off with a loud gasp as Dino thrust the rest of his finger inside. The blonde leaned down to place a chaste kiss on his lips, surprise flickering within his sienna irides when Kyouya moved to bite him.

"Hey," he chastised softly, "that's not going to win me over." _Although you've already done that, _he added within a thought. Kyouya merely frowned at him, the blush still present across his cheeks as Dino gently pulled his digit back out. It was thrust back inside afterwards, the blonde watching intently at the smaller male's expression. Discomfort was the first one that he could make out, but from the way the scarlet across his face had become deeper, Dino had to assume that there was pleasure mixed in there, too.

A second digit soon joined in, Dino using his free hand to spread the brunet's legs further. He had to keep telling himself to go slow, that Kyouya hadn't had enough alcohol to make him pass out yet. The smaller male was old enough to have a somewhat good tolerance for it, though he hadn't displayed it earlier in the night. It was a relief that he still had his eyes open, fixated solely on the blonde's face. Dino bit down on his lip as he pushed his fingers in further, searching for a small bundle of nerves to make him gasp out more. The sounds that were coming out his mouth were addictive; the subtle moans send a spike of heat straight down to his arousal to the loud gasps that made a shiver run down his spine. He was reacting to all of them, surely a sign that it was a good choice.

With a third finger soon joining the others, Dino was sure that Kyouya's blush couldn't get any more vivid. He was still gasping out loudly, fisting the covers into his hand as he arched his back off of the mattress. A few times he had unconsciously pushed his hips downwards, causing the digits to reach further inside of him. The blonde leaned down again, applying a languid lick to the leaking member in front of him. Kyouya gasped just like before, that time pushing himself up from the bed into a sitting position.

"D-don't—" Kyouya had tried to say, yet when Dino moved to take his member into his mouth, he cut himself off. "Shit," he cursed, his reactions contradicting his words.

Pulling away slowly, Dino grinned as a mischievous glint became apparent in his eyes. "What do you want me to do?" he asked huskily, his fingers being thrust back inside of the smaller male. "If you don't say it, I won't know." He curled his digits, the heat that was coiling within his stomach travelling down lower from the reaction he received.

Surprise was what he could make out first—Kyouya's eyes had widened as he stared at the blonde incredulously, silently demanding for him to explain.

"Where do you want me to touch you?" he clarified, his half-lidded eyes giving away the lustful hint to his voice. Dino leaned down with one of his hands resting on the mattress beside the brunet's head, making it so his breath was directly hitting his ear. Making sure his lips were faintly pressing against his cartilage, only enough to leave an impression, he whispered, "Where needs my attention?" His fingers were pushed inside again, that time brushing against the bundle of nerves that he was looking for.

He could distinctly hear Kyouya's breathing hitch, the moan that escaped his lips being louder than before. Dino grinned before biting down softly onto his ear, humming in approval. "S-stop."

Curling his fingers, Dino whispered huskily, "I can make you writhe in pleasure."

"I—"

The blonde cut him off, trailing kisses across his jawline. "Are you sure you want me to?" he murmured, nipping at the skin while continuing to move his fingers, increasing the pace. He could feel that Kyouya was reacting again, grinning to himself in victory when the smaller male's hips began coming down to meet his hand. If rejecting him was really what the brunet wanted to do, he wouldn't have been encouraging him silently. It was just a shell he had to crack, Dino concluded fondly. The small details made Kyouya more interesting to him—if he was going to appear at the bar more often, Dino had to wonder whether or not he would see him again.

Pulling back and observing his expression, the swollen lips, porcelain skin littered with marks and then the deep blush, the blonde decided quickly that he did want to see him again. Even if they didn't become entangled within a bed again, he knew how to make his body react.

When the digits were thrust back inside, Kyouya moaned loudly, "D—Dino."

Dino froze, blinking in shock, before he grinned widely. It was the first time that his name had been called that night, the tone it was uttered in making the situation far sweeter. As his fingers were pulled out again, a noise strikingly akin to a whine left the brunet's lips before he firmly kept them shut, choosing to close his eyes instead. Dino pouted, choosing to ignore his own throbbing member before casting a meaningful glance down to Kyouya's. With the digits being thrust inside, he bit down onto his own lip as he saw Kyouya's member twitch, his arousal far more obvious than before.

"All you need to do is say that you want me," he announced huskily. _As much as I want you. _

"No," Kyouya rasped.

Withdrawing his fingers, Dino raised both of his eyebrows as they made eye contact. He could tell that Kyouya wasn't going to admit it aloud, yet making his body answer for him seemed like a good idea. Making it so their noses were almost pressing against each other, Dino slid one of his legs in between the younger male's before grinning, trying to mask his amusement.

Kyouya scowled as the blonde reached down between them with his free hand, grasping Kyouya's member quickly. Surprised flickered across his expression before it was masked by pleasure, Dino's hand slowly pumping his arousal.

"If you didn't want me, you wouldn't be reacting like this," Dino whispered, nipping at the other's ear the next moment. He could let the smaller male indulge himself in pleasure while he wasn't looking at that moment; it was obvious that he was embarrassed, therefore not admitting it aloud, but when it came to what was coming next, Dino was sure there wasn't a way he could hide his expression from him then. He hummed to himself, the pace his hand was moving increasing as he was rewarded by moans. "Just say it, Kyouya."

Instead of the answer that he was expecting, Dino chuckled under his breath as the felt Kyouya arching his back. It was obvious what has going to happen the next moment, yet he still anticipated it. Biting down on his ear, Kyouya moaned his name when he came. "_Dino_." The liquid was coating his hand, the rest of it having landed onto the brunet's abdomen and chest. From the quick pants that were escaping his lips and then the constant rising and falling of his chest, Dino had to assume that Kyouya had been absorbed into what was happening.

"That was quick," the blonde murmured huskily, "I'm starting to believe you're more inexperienced than I thought."

Kyouya's voice was breathier than before. "Shut up." The reply wasn't an outright denial of Dino's assumption, causing him to raise an eyebrow before pulling back. He could see lust practically painted across the brunet's face, urging him to continue.

Reaching for the bottle beside them again, Dino made sure that his arousal was thoroughly coated before glancing back at the younger male again. He was still on his back, glancing at him with curiosity clear across his expression.

"Sorry," Dino apologized jokingly. "I've only got strawberry scented."

The look he received was either incredulous or of pure loathing. Dino chose the first, grinning before his hands were smoothing over the flesh of Kyouya's thighs.

"How do you want to do this?" Dino murmured, the arousal he was feeling portrayed within his tone. "Do you have a favourite position?"

"Eh?"

Dino hummed. "I'd prefer it if I could see your face," he said bluntly, "it's attractive when you blush." When Kyouya's eyes had widened from his comment, Dino laughed openly before moving closer to him.

Making it so Kyouya's legs were spread and hooking them around his waist, Dino tried to make himself go slow again. Nudging himself forward, he kept eye contact with the brunet, one of his hands on the mattress beside his head while the other was slowly guiding his arousal towards his entrance.

"Relax," he whispered, pressing against Kyouya's entrance, "I don't want this to hurt you."

As he gently pushed himself in, Dino had to grit his teeth, trying not to groan aloud. He could feel Kyouya protesting already, yet not pulling his body away. Instead as the blonde thrust inside slowly, Kyouya gasped, his muscles clenching from the intrusion.

"Relax," Dino repeated, making the rest of his arousal go into his entrance. With himself fully sheathed inside the smaller male, he brushed the ebony bangs out of Kyouya's face, rewarding himself with a clear view of his expression.

Pain was the first expression that he could make out—the closed eyes and teeth gnawing on his lips were an obvious sign, yet mixed in with the scrunched up features, Dino had to assume it would go soon. He _knew _the pain would go away, evolving into something else, yet he hadn't expected the brunet to have reacted as much as he had.

_Is he a...? _Dino had started to think before he gasped, both his hands on the mattress beside the other's head. Pulling his hips back slowly, he was rewarded with Kyouya opening his eyes, his expression questioning as he attempted to get his breathing back to normal. He wasn't biting down on his lips at that moment, instead keeping his mouth open while trying to take in deeper breaths. The sight made the coiling within the blonde's stomachs shoot lower, becoming more intensified as he slowly rolled his hips.

"N-no," Kyouya gasped, his legs repositioning themselves around the older male's waist. The movement only brought them closer together, Dino's member reaching further inside.

Dino kept his mouth shut, shallowly thrusting into the brunet to make him accustomed to his movements. The pained expression was gradually switching to pleasure, the light sheen of sweat across his skin making him look far more appealing than before. Paired with his scarlet cheeks, the liquid scattered across his chest and combined with the marks that he'd already littered across the pale skin, Dino had to gulp. Kyouya would've been a fool if he hadn't realized he was ridiculously attracted to him.

"As lovely as it is to hear you moan," Dino whispered, leaning down to capture his lips, "I'd rather it be my name than half-hearted protests." It had been said enough, in his own opinion at that point in time. The younger male was far too stubborn, still trying to mask his moans. "I'm not going to hold back."

Taking advantage of the brunet's surprise, Dino thrust back inside sharply, slipping his appendage to intertwine with Kyouya's, pleased by the moan he could feel at the back of the other's throat. As much as he seemed to want to close his eyes, to believe he was in another place, the hands that were soon tangled within Dino's blond hair were completely contradicting, pulling him closer. With their chests touching, Dino increased his pace, his appendage reaching deeper into the brunet, the moan that was being produced causing a set of vibrations. It wasn't a surprise to him when Kyouya broke away, his already swollen lips looking more attractive than before. He gasped, his back arching, as the blonde continued his movements.

There wasn't any pain after that; only Kyouya moaning loudly, reaching for the male in front of him in search of more of the sensations. It was obvious that he was inexperienced at that point, even more so than before—somehow making Dino's unvoiced question come back to mind—but the blonde didn't mind at all. The way Kyouya was trying to push his hips to meet him, trying to make his member reach further within him, was more appealing than anything else.

"Dino," Kyouya rasped, his fingers curling into the blonde's shoulders. "P-pleas—"

Another moan made Kyouya cut himself off, that time closing his eyes as Dino subtly nipped at his neck. "What is it?" he murmured, languidly licking the younger male's jugular.

His thrusts became shallow, teasing, as he waited for the brunet to say what he wanted to happen. For him to admit aloud that he wanted it, finally. As they made eye contact, Dino slowly pulled his member out completely, biting down onto his lip as a noise similar to a whimper left the smaller male's lips.

"Louder." He smiled, amusement reflected within his irides. "If you let me hear your voice, I'll continue," Dino announced huskily, his arousal pressing against his entrance again. He wasn't pushing in, though, simply teasing.

For a moment, Kyouya shot him a look of contempt before his expression looked almost pained. His nails dug into the blonde's shoulders as he bared his teeth, apparently torn between what decision to choose. Conflict was obvious in his eyes before he tore them away, choosing to close them instead.

Dino raised an eyebrow, pushing his member in slightly, while staring at the brunet's face to gauge his reaction. Casting a quick glance downwards, the obvious twitch that the smaller male's arousal gave contradicted his pause. "Kyouya," he urged him.

He was surprised, however, when one of Kyouya's hands started to move from his shoulder. He grasped the blond tresses quickly, pulling Dino's head down to his level as he slowly opened his eyes. Kyouya leaned up again, that time letting his breath hit his ear as he said lowly, "If you don't make me come soon, I'll bite you to death."

The blonde's eyes lit up from hearing the threat, grinning lopsidedly before he captured the smaller male's lips again. The kiss was returned with enthusiasm that time, Kyouya pulling on the blond hair to bring their bodies closer. He thrust into his entrance unexpectedly, earning a shocked gasp, before Kyouya started to meet his thrusts. He was honestly past that point, moaning the older male's name under his breath once they'd broken away again. Dino grinned before hooking one of the brunet's legs over his shoulder, shifting their position so he could reach deeper inside of him.

It seemed to work from the increase in volume of Kyouya's moans. He was gripping the sheets again, staring at him through glazed over eyes.

Dino could feel that he was close at that point, Kyouya, too, from his reactions. He increased his pace, trying his hardest not to get too carried away and forget that they were strangers. It was a weird feeling at that moment for him—usually, he wouldn't coax a stranger into bed with him, but it was probably the alcohol in his system that made him do it. That, or feeling sore about being stood up by a friend.

"Shit, Kyouya," Dino murmured, rolling his hips sharply. He was rewarded with Kyouya arching his back more that time, moaning his name heatedly before clenching around his member.

"D-_Dino!_" he panted, closing his eyes as he climaxed. The liquid landed on his abdomen and chest the next moment. Dino groaned under his breath before thrusting into him a couple more times. It only took a few more for him to come, too, taking in a deep breath before he pulled out, Kyouya's inner thighs becoming coated with the warm liquid as it slowly leaked from his entrance.

-x-

"Did you get laid?" Fran asked monotonously, leaning over the counter within their kitchen. A piece of toast was hanging from his mouth as he slowly nibbled it, subtle curiosity reflected within his teal irides. A mug of coffee was by his elbow, dangerously close to be knocked on the floor. When he saw the irritated air around Kyouya, Fran backtracked. "I was just joking," he said, dismissively waving his hand.

Kyouya's head hurt, along with his body. Apart from the pounding headache that seemed permanent, the throbbing of his backside, along with random marks across his body, he was trying to stop his thoughts trailing back to the night before. Walking back to his apartment had almost been a blur, yet when he'd showered quickly without Fran knowing he was there, he'd banged his head against the wall a couple of times.

Waking up next to a naked stranger was definitely _not _normal. The fact that he was naked, too, was bad as well. He had no recollection of how he had got there; all he knew was that he'd been separated from Fran earlier in the night, somehow ending up within a stranger's apartment.

_Maybe we just fought and got sweaty, _he thought sarcastically, dismissing it quickly. It was best not to think about it, he concluded, choosing to keep his pride in tact instead of believing a stranger had taken his virginity.

With his hair still wet and dripping, Kyouya reached for the coffee on the counter. He swiped it quickly, not staring at the smaller male, before bringing it to his lips. When the mug was empty, he tried to act as normal as possible. "Don't be an idiot," he chastised blandly, deluding himself into thinking that he was being an idiot, too.

Fran tore a bite from his toast, his elbow resting upon the counter as he chewed quickly. He swallowed after that, making sure he wasn't eating while talking. It was a reason Kyouya had punched him in the past—manners were important. "What's wrong with your leg?"

"I got into a fight." Kyouya shrugged, staring at the counter as he tried to make himself believe his lie. "Why does it matter?"

"Don't answer my question with another, _Senpai_." Fran raised an eyebrow, pouring himself a new mug of coffee quickly. He unceremoniously placed sugar into it, staring at Kyouya for a moment in warning. "It's unbecoming of you."

_Damn it. _The brunet scowled, reaching forward to steal the slice of toast. Fran didn't protest when it was taken, only watching with muted interest at what was happening.

The fact that Kyouya was trying hard to fight down a blush was bad. He wanted to walk away, scrub at his skin some more and make sure there were no more marks over his body—marks that he was convinced were only bruises, especially the ones on his neck—but he needed to get to school. Fran did, too, otherwise they were both going to be late. He ate the slice of toast quickly, still not making eye contact, before he sighed under his breath.

"Amphibian," Kyouya called. "We need to go to school already."

"_Senpai_," Fran whined as he turned around. "Can't your precious school wait until after I've pissed?"

-x-

"Stop it, Fran," Kyouya hissed, his arms crossed over his chest. They were both sitting next to each other while waiting for their English lesson to begin, unfortunately the first one of the week. Apart from the jacket hanging upon Kyouya's shoulders, they were both clad in the correct uniforms. Although Fran had always refused to wear a sweater or a tie, just a shirt seemed enough to suit him. _I swear, if he taps that pencil again..._

The subject from that morning had been dropped, Fran not commenting on how Kyouya seemed to wince every now and then. The brunet had deluded himself into thinking it wasn't happening, too stubborn to acknowledge it. He could barely remember the face of the stranger; all he knew was that he had blonde hair and tattoos across one of his arms, unfortunately the one that had been wrapped around his waist that morning.

_Definitely fighting. _

To Kyouya's own relief, their old teacher had quit. He was far too happy for him to have been gone, yet brushed it off as normal. It was _normal _to hate a teacher, even if they had approached him outside of lessons, too.

A snap sounded beside him. "Oh," Fran drawled monotonously, surprise not coming through to his tone. "Hey, can I borrow a pencil?" Kyouya turned his head to the side, only glancing down at the split pencil and pieces of wood that had fallen off. "Mine broke."

"Do I look like I have a pencil on me?" He didn't, he never did.

When the door to the classroom finally opened, everyone inside could hear the hinges squeak. It was common for the class to be quiet when Kyouya was around, yet he assumed that it was only from respect. He had lashed at far too many of them through his time there, too. The brunet raised a narrow eyebrow when someone fell through the doorway, the books that were in their hands scattering onto the floor as he groaned under his breath.

_The new teacher's clumsy, _he observed. If he was already failing and hadn't already introduced himself to the class, there was a high chance that the lessons were going to be amusing. A smirk crept across his lips as he thought about the torture he could make the new teacher endure.

With a groan, the male pushed himself off from the floor, straightening out his clothes quickly before glancing up.

He wasn't dressed like most of the teachers within the high school—meaning, not outrageous nor strict—instead, the male was wearing a white shirt with a thin black tie hanging loosely with the top buttons undone. Instead of slacks like half of the teachers wore, he was wearing black jeans. As he ran his hand through his hair, Kyouya froze.

The tattoos that were trailing from his hand and arm, at least from what he could see from the pushed up long sleeves, were familiar. Kyouya's eyes widened in surprise as he glanced back up to his face, taking in the blond hair and the particular cut.

_Are you kidding me? _Kyouya thought incredulously, his surprise leaking into his expression.

The teacher grinned sheepishly before placing his books on the desk, taking a deep breath in.

"Hi?" he said, grimacing when he realized that it sounded more like a question. Clearing his throat, the blonde tried again. "As you've probably guessed, I'm your new teacher."

He shrugged, as if saying he was confused about why, too.

"My name's Dino Cavallone," the blonde announced, grimacing the next moment. "I'm not sure you should call me Mr. Cavallone, though, I'm only twenty-three."

Kyouya wanted to slam his head against the desk, but that would've given away his frustration. Had to suspect that he couldn't get a break in his life, really, since the source of his frustration that morning seemed to be right in front of him.

When _Dino _started to scan the room, Kyouya wanted to leave or at least look away. He could feel Fran's stare on his face, alerting him that he needed to act casual, just like there was nothing wrong. Definitely not like there was the man he'd woken up naked next to right in front of him.

_Just kill me now. _

Dino's eyes finally landed on Kyouya after a few minutes, the grin slipping off of his lips. Recognition was first to flutter across his expression, just before his whole face turned a shade of red.

_Fuck._

**AN: **My gosh, so many reviews for this story so far. Thanks, guys! It means a lot that you're supporting this.

Although there was quite a lot of Dino/Kyouya in this chapter, the pairing is _not _decided. Believe it or not, this smut was plot. I'm such a trickster. Dino thinks that Kyouya's old enough to drink, therefore not a minor. We can all blame Levi for letting him into the bar for that. I'm still really awkward at third person but I hope you can all tell that the lemon was supposed to be from Dino's POV. Really sorry about how long the lemon was, I seem to only be able to write long ones.

Congratulations on finishing your exams, Yinyin!

Keep your votes coming! It will determine how the story will turn out. Votes so far are:

Dino: 32 / Fran: 15


	3. A One Person Game

**Kurosawa-Kun:** Sorry, haha. **nightinggale mistress: **Man, that has to be considered luck! He ended up getting laid instead of a headache from Mukuro XD;; Added your vote! **Traum-Alptraum: **Haha, I'm glad you like who took his virginity then! I'll add your vote in, thank you for reviewing. **Shizaya lover: **Why, of course he's gonna overreact. :'D I tried to not give too much away, but damn that was hard. LOLOL. Threesome? If the pairing ends up as 1826, I don't think there will be smut as I can't write Kyouya topping. "orz Added your vote! **naiYin: **What a lovely squee that was! Yes, that chapter was for you, my love, and this one is incredibly late. **sagacchi:** Dino can't get arressted if Kyouya can't remember, right? LOL. Ding, he's out of trouble! Ahhh, I'm sorry Fran annoys you "orz Author note at the bottom might explain a bit, if you find this Fran different. **Phoenix of Starlight: **I really didn't meant to scar you :c I warned you! I just happen to write _really _long lemons, so it turned out that way. The votes are making me so happy! So many. : D D-don't embrace the herd? All of my stories are D18! I'm one of the main contributors. ;A; **ZirciX: **Haha, no problem! I-is that a compliment for my lemon? O_O Thank you! I'm so awkward at writing them, haha. XD;; It doesn't count as rape, as it was mutual at the time... I think. Don't hold me to that. I-I'm sorry this took long and is short, and full of crap! **Oak-chan: **/pass tissues **MOnO.13: **/pets you like an idiot. Hey, Mono, haha. LOLOL. "coffee" is just an excuse used to get into someone's pants, believe me XD;; Don't go for it! LMAO SEX EDUCATION. OMG LET ME USE THAT. **NothingIcanSay: **Y-you are godly. That review made me smile so much, I really don't deserve it XDD;; Thank you, girl! It means a lot! Especially that you've read all of my stories, haha, not many do that. ;w; **NothingIcanSay: **You submitted it twice! **FancyMittens: **Thank you! -nibbles cookie- **Loketoki: **Thank you for the reviewing! I really wanted to get round to writing the clichéd sleeping with someone, then finding out they're the teacher. (: So bad, but I had to do it. Originally this was just going to be a one-shot-without Fran-but it somehow ended up like this.**Yachiru443: **Thank you, sorry for the wait! **Hima-Alaya: **-smothers you with love- Hello, my lovely. c: You're the slow one, of course. _/this is a comment two months late. _Enjoy your time with your family! **ideal fairytale: **M-Mama! I can't believe you actually read this and I forgot about it XD; Well done for making it this far though you don't like slash. LOL, so innocent! There might be some of the old desk sex. ;) *COUGHHACKCOUGH* as you lovingly put it. **Paradoxismminanat: **Still can't spell your name, Tutu. :I **Paradoxismminant: **The sleeves were rolled up! I had actually thought that one through XDD;; **Cavalliere: **Added your vote for Dino! LOLOL. There has to be some kind of action in an AU XD;; **KittyKandaLuv: **Of course! **ilovesmillingfools: **Pfft, sorry for surprising you! **Love in Snow: **I'm sorry I took so long! Updated as of now~ **ValleyofDemon: **I share your feelings! -doesn't like 1826 anymore- "OTL But of course there will be action in a isolated classroom! ...Sometime in the future. **ShiShiRuKe: **HUBBBY! GLDFHFJHGFJ I'VE MISSED YOU SO. even though we spoke yesterday xD;; Added your vote in, and your vote only counts for two, as you're wonderful! ;D Much love!**  
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_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明_

Chapter Three—A One Person Game  
><em>I extend my fingertips all the way to your throat.<em>

Fran wasn't stupid, despite some individuals common belief. He knew when something was going on, what the answers were to most questions and, mostly, when something was bothering the only person he'd bothered to keep close for years. It was quite simple how he was able to tell; by Kyouya also allowing him to be there, his quirks were obvious.

And at that moment, as the male stiffened beside him, Fran's intuition flared. Only watching with muted interest out of the corner of his eye, it wasn't apparent upon the green-haired male's face that he was curious at all. If anything, it looked as though he was about to fall asleep at any given moment—though, he could usually leave that to Kyouya instead. Yet as he glanced at Kyouya beside him, that wasn't the case at that moment. Rather than the usual dazed expression that was across his face, his lips were pressed into a firm line, attention directed solely at the front of the class.

_Another mystery from the master of indifference. _Fran rolled his eyes to himself, not sure whether it had piqued his interest or not. Possibly, there was an animal that had been shown at the front of the class to catch the brunet's attention. Then remembering that the lesson hadn't even started yet, Fran slowly turned his head to peer at what could have been more interesting than the annoyance that he was in general. Riling up the other was one of his favourite activities, and he knew for sure that tapping with a pencil worked a treat. Also tapping his fingers loudly on the desk, too, worked. He continued to do so at that moment, with his fingernails barely scraping against the material of the desk. As the rhythm was set, there was no added amusement from the movement. Kyouya wasn't effected at all—he looked disgusted, more than anything, but it wasn't towards him.

"_Senpai_," Fran drawled, purposely tapping his pencil louder than before. The other's eyebrow didn't twitch, nor did his expression change. "Are you starstruck over the teacher?" That was all there was at the front, simply a blushing blond who happened to be staring right back at Kyouya. Though, his expression was something else than disgusted: surprised.

_Suspicious, _the green-haired male though to himself, the thought barely reflected within his irides. He simply stared at the new teacher for a moment, much like the rest of the class was, before regarding him as boring. At least that was until he slapped his hand over his mouth, turning his head so the blond strands covered his expression. He reached for the papers he had been clutching beforehand, wrinkling the pieces of paper within his one tense palm. Far more tense than he had been stepping into the room, originally. _Someone else weird has appeared. _

"_Senpai_," he repeated. "Blondie will be an easy target." One of the ways to pass time for them during school happened to not be a good one—it had caused them to visit the principal far too many times, but with him and Kyouya together, they somehow went away without anything happening.

Kyouya was still far too busy staring to respond to Fran's comment.

"Sorry—I, _well_," Dino stumbled over his words, awkwardly running his fingers through his hair to avoid looking around. A few of the students laughed to themselves while Fran looked on, bored, before choosing to turn slowly to his side.

Kyouya normally responded to fast movements, making it so the dinosaur approach was one of the most amusing. Within his own time, Fran reached to poke the other's cheek while saying, "_Senpai_," as he did so. He pressed harder from no reaction, the inside of Kyouya's cheek pressing against his teeth. Before he could blink the older male had pushed his hand to the side, loudly pushing his chair back as it scrapped across the floor. His eyes had been narrowed—briefly sending a glare Fran's way—before stalking out of the room. Fran blinked bemusedly before staring at his fingertip. "Oops."

He didn't get the chance to follow after him amused before someone else took the liberty to do so. It was a rare occurrence, for sure, as no one else usually tried to get involved between them. Though, the blonde hadn't been there long enough to know. Only the slightest twitch of Fran's eyebrow showed, but his curiosity was certainly piqued as Dino followed Kyouya out of the room, the classroom door slammed after them both. He could see the blonde visibly flinch from the noise for a moment before he was out of sight.

"Perfect new teacher," he murmured, being overheard by others within the class. They smirked at him as he casually strolled by, taking his dear time not wanting to interrupt what was happening outside the classroom door. It was obvious that the two of them knew each other, even if Kyouya wasn't willing to admit that. That, or his period had come halfway through class and he needed to run away to get a tampon. "Poor thing having a menstrual system."

His footsteps were barely audible as the classroom door closed softly behind him. Fran had to assume where they were; it wasn't obvious at all, since he couldn't hear any talking at that moment. His first guess was the empty classroom next door to were they were, but all that greeted the green-haired male was a soft breeze from the opened window. He frowned slightly before moving on down the hall, hands within his pocket as he resisted yawning. It was his own fault that he was tired—waiting up for Kyouya to return was a stupid idea. Even more so was when he proposed it, expecting him to reject the idea before he had a chance to think. Fran had initially been surprised when Kyouya accepted it, even more so when he returned loudly that morning. Through the day he had a good sense of his noise level, but when the time became well past three o'clock in the morning, he seemed to be oblivious to how loud he was being. Though, it had always been like that. Kyouya was as oblivious as they came.

Fran snorted quietly to himself as he remembered an incident in the past. Of course, when they were younger there had been admirers for the older male. He hadn't been aware of them somehow, and one of the girls had approached Fran instead. They were from the room two doors down to where they had been staying, and Fran had barely known her name. A girl Kyouya had been close with, and still was, had ushered the stranger away before scoffing at the letter that had been dropped. Always rejected they were, and from as far as Kyouya knew, no one had ever looked at him in that way.

Stopping outside of the men's bathroom, Fran's interest deepened when he heard a noise from inside. It seemed to be just the splashing of water at first—either someone purposely urinating upon the floor, or washing their face—and before he knew it, he had taken a step forward to carry on searching.

That was when he heard the distinct growl within their voice. "Just get _out_."

"Can you just let me explain, please?" It was definitely the two of them; their voices were recognisable, especially from Kyouya's tone. Fran crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall beside the door. Their words were audible, but only snippets could be heard properly. "I know you don't—"

"You're right, I don't."

Tapping his index finger against his chin, Fran pondered what they could have been talking about. There was definitely a connection, though they didn't seem particularly close. Kyouya had said he was involved in a fight the night before—meaning he lost the bet of sorts—but Dino hadn't been injured at all.

"Kyouya—"

_Suspicious, _Fran repeated his previous thought. He thought he had known most of the people Kyouya chose to be around; there were a fair few, after all. The next part of their conversation couldn't be made out and the sound of water running had stopped.

"I'm the one in the wrong here?" Dino sounded incredulous. "I thought _you_ were twenty! Imagine my surprise when I saw you sat in my class."

"I do _not_ know you," Kyouya stressed to reply, obviously irked. The tone of his voice wasn't a good one—Fran knew from experience. Usually at that point in time, he'd inwardly grimace before remarking something sarcastically, waving his hand and walking away quickly.

"Are you going to pretend yesterday didn't happen?" _...Yesterday. Kyouya lost bad enough that he's ashamed to remember it? _Fran thought wickedly, curious to find out what had happened fully. He wouldn't have put it past the brunet to reject anyone who excelled in whatever he was good at, he had far too much pride to acknowledge them. "Kyouya." Dino sighed. "I was drunk."

_He lost to a drunkard? Even worse for his pride. _If Fran had wanted to give away his position, he would've laughed to himself. He had never fought Kyouya seriously, but now he was starting to doubt him completely. All of his _tales _of disciplining others could have been greatly exaggerated.

"Were you not listening to me, herbivore?" Kyouya hissed loudly, Fran taking an unconscious step away from the door just in case they were moving. Eavesdropping on Kyouya wasn't a particularly smart idea, and paired with the fact he was annoying him in class, too, it couldn't have gone well. Frowning slightly, Fran leaned against the wall again, that time crossing his arms over his chest. All of the information he'd gathered at that point wasn't looking good—more than anything, It was just making him start to doubt to the brunet. But then again, he had been there during some of the fights, having caused them as well, meaning he'd seen it with his own eyes. Of course, the rumours were exaggerated sometimes. "I do not know you, nor do I know what happened."

There was silence for awhile, long enough that Fran swore he could hear their breathing as there was no footsteps present. He would've furrowed his eyebrows if he could have been bothered, but then Dino spoke again. "_What_?" he asked quite loudly, speaking fast.

"Is that enough to get you to leave me alone?" From the soft noise inside, it was obvious Kyouya was tapping his foot from impatience. Never one to wait, Fran mused. "You're going to lose your job if you stay here any longer." His tone contradicted his words, though, as there was no concern laced within.

"I think I'm going to lose my job, anyway." Dino was distressed as he said so, sighing afterwards. "Can we... talk about this after class, Kyouya?"

"What makes you think I'll be going back there?" Shuffling his feet, Fran sidestepped away from the entrance, biting softly on his lower lip while trying to decide what time was the best to walk away. The other option was to appear in front of them, quickly dodge Kyouya's tonfa before introducing himself to the one who was able to bring the brunet to his knees in defeat. At least, that was what he had gathered. "You do not know me well enough to call me my name."

As his hand brushed over his pocket, Fran gently raised his eyebrow before revealing his phone. Gripping it in his hands, surprise wasn't present on his expression as it started to vibrate. It was the normal time for them to call, but it provided an excuse.

"Nice timing, Master," he drawled, although it sounded more sarcastic than intended. Gently pushing the bathroom door open, he pulled the phone away before receiving the answer. "_Senpai_!" Fran called loudly. "B-Cup's on the phone for you!" The sentence was a lie, but it was worth it to hear the blonde become startled while Kyouya quickly hid it.

With fast steps the brunet strode forward, fury etched across his expression. "How long have you been there, Fran?" he hissed, fingers itching to reach for his weapons. Behind him, Dino's face was a shade of red again as he was unsure whether to advance. "How much did you hear?"

"I heard everything." Maybe not. "From butterbutt admitting he molested you, to you saying how wonderful it was and wanted it to happen again."

Kyouya blinked. "Enough." He pushed Fran's back by his head, palm connecting with his forehead as he frowned. "I don't need you, of all people, acting like a stalker."

"What if that leaves a bruise?" he complained, rubbing the spot Kyouya had touched while taking a step back. "I'll look like a neglected child, they'll slap my picture over posters and I'll be the new face of abuse!" The phone was still in his hand placed by his side, enough so that Mukuro could overhear what was being said.

"At least you'd be making money then, do you even realise how much the rent is?"

"Are you suggesting I should sell my body, _Senpai_?" Fran raised his eyebrow, pursing his lips as he did so. "That would cost too much, no one would buy."

"That, or your opinion of yourself is too high, idiot." Kyouya flicked his forehead, casually the green-haired male to whine softly before the brunet added, "You'd be an awful prostitute."

"Oh, you'd be much better." He rolled his eyes. "We could spend money on wonderful panties for you; would you prefer lace or frills?"

"I would not belittle myself and have sex with a stranger." Kyouya narrowed his eyes, both of them becoming aware they weren't alone when the blonde coughed from a few metres behind. Fran merely peeked over the brunet's shoulder, noting their height different annoyingly, while Kyouya glared at the blonde instead. "Is something funny?"

"No." Dino shook his head, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck while smiling sheepishly. "I'll talk to you later when you're alone, okay?"

Purposely speaking louder, so they could be clearly heard on the phone, Fran said, "Can I be included in the illegal conversation, too? I've always wanted a pedophile as a friend."

For a moment Dino looked shocked, stopping in his steps, before he shook his head again. He was good with being wound up from what it seemed, Fran's amusement deteriorating from the reaction. "I'm not a pedophile," he defended himself quietly. "You two need to get back to class, I can still flunk you, you know."

"I'm not cut out to be a homeless vagabond," the green-haired male mused, pursing his lips. "Hey, _Senpai_," he called, leaning against the brunet's back. Kyouya didn't stiffen as he did so, accustomed to the movement. "Buy me a bindle; a nice one, though, I can't have people mocking me."

"Why do I associate myself with you?" Kyouya asked, mostly to himself, before pushing Fran away by his forehead again. Making it so the smaller male was at an arms distance away, he scowled before turning to glare at the blonde again. "There's nothing to talk about later."

"Kyouya." Dino sighed again, unsure where to look. "Look. I didn't know that was normal for you, but I do need to speak to you, okay?"

"Butterbutt, what about me?" Fran whined monotonously, trying to get him to walk away quicker. As lovely as the conversation he'd overheard and then participated in, he was sure Mukuro was going to start speaking through the phone soon. Kyouya wouldn't have been able to miss that, and considering the last bit wasn't making much sense, there was barely any time. "It's not good to have a favourite student already."

"...I don't think you'll be my favourite." Dino blinked. "Watch your language, too, I don't want to get harassed by the principal because of it." He sidestepped around them, tugging onto the sleeves that had been rolled up to cover the tattoos quickly. "I'll give you both five minutes to return." When he walked away, Dino made sure to look over his shoulder, just enough to make eye contact with Kyouya while Fran whistled quietly.

"Young love, eh?" he risked saying, dodging the fist that came his way. He jumped back, holding his hands up in mock surrender before realising he was clutching the phone, placing it behind his back quickly.

"You said _Nee-sama _was on the phone, didn't you?" Kyouya pressed, taking a step forward. He looked more infuriated than before, only a hint of relief in his expression as his eyes quickly darted over Fran's head to make sure the blonde had walked away.

_Oh dear. _"B-Cup probably gave up and went to massage herself," he drawled, "you know what it's like for girls nowadays. A competition for breasts."

"_Fran_," he stressed with narrowed eyes. "Show some respect."

"That's not really for me, you know?" Fran shrugged his shoulders, taking another step backwards with the phone still behind him. "You can talk to her later, anyway, you're supposed to be in class." A dismissive wave of his hand was added, along with a noise, too. "Shoo, shoo, _Senpai_."

"So are you." He raised an eyebrow, though the tone was low. "I'm not playing this game with you, Fran."

"Game?" Fran blinked innocently, trying to give off the aura of doing nothing wrong. He was sure the older male could hear clearly through the phone what was being said, even worse about Kyouya's reactions. That was the point of the call, after all, but Mukuro never usually got to eavesdrop. "Did you hit your head while you were out here, or have you always been this confused?" he drawled, trying to distract him. "Has it leaked into your sexual orientation, too, _Senpai_? Are you confused completely?"

"...It's my turn to make dinner, and you're not getting any." And with that said, Kyouya stalked away after glaring at him briefly, his mood fouler than it had been that morning.

Just to rile him up, Fran shouted, "Do you need more tampons?"

-x-

"That was risky what you did there, Fran," Mukuro commented, obviously raising his eyebrow although the green-haired male couldn't see. Amusement had leaked into his tone as he said so, apparently having heard all that had been said. "I thought you didn't want young Kyouya to find out what you were doing?"

"He's going to find out at some point." He snorted. "Kyouya's not an idiot sometimes."

"Sometimes." Mukuro laughed lowly. "But he's certainly an idiot when it comes to you."

-x-

Making sure his hands were firmly pressed against the wall in front of him, Fran peeked out from the corner, just to make sure who he thought was there really was. Kyouya was situated on the floor, as per usual, and was taking one of his ever famous naps that he liked to. There had been some talk within the class, while he wasn't there, of course, that there might have been a competition to see who could disturb it and get away without any bruises. That was before Fran had before to socialise properly with them, if he was being honest. Throwing casual insults couldn't have been counted, much less when Kyouya had been at his side. He'd sarcastically scoffed at their comments, saying it was quite easy to do so, and that the idea itself was quite ridiculous before taking his leave. They had shut up since then, thankfully, but still eyed him oddly sometimes.

"I know you're there, Fran," came Kyouya's voice while he was absorbed in his thoughts. Fran blinked, mildly surprised that his position had been given away immediately before shaking his head. Trust him, he mused, to know that anyone was trying to disturb his sleep. Fran was sure he'd only peeked around the corner one or twice, but certainly not long enough to gain attention. Then again, it could have been his teal shade of hair.

"Go back to sleep, tofuhead," he commanded, ducking behind the wall again.

"I can't sleep while I can hear you breathing." Kyouya was most likely scowling. From the rustling of clothing, he was most likely pushing himself up from the floor or the wall, too. Never one to let his guard down, even though he was familiar with the trespasser. He had always been like that—even if there was some form of trust between them, the brunet was always cautious. He constantly locked his door at night, too, and back when they were situated within the orphanage—and considerably younger—he'd barricaded himself inside until he was allowed to have a room to himself. "Stop it."

"Command is invalid," Fran teased monotonously. One of the things he had been teased about before was his voice, but speaking in the way he did made him stand out less than originally. With a different accent altogether, he would have definitely been mocked more.

"You have a heart, you're not a robot." Footsteps mingled in with the sound of his voice. "Why is it you're here now? We don't have anything to talk about." He soon appeared from around the corner, Fran inwardly grimacing as he was stared down. Definitely, there was something to talk about. "Or perhaps you'd like to talk about your lie?"

"I admit, I'm a female really," Fran sighed dramatically, shaking his head for effect as he leaned against the wall. It was better to avoid eye contact while he was using dramatics for the subject to change; there was more than enough things that he could have been caught out on, but Kyouya only became aware of the most obvious. And from what the teal-haired male could conclude, it wasn't anything serious at that moment. There was still a slight teasing tone to his voice, rather than the low and cold tone he had become accustomed to while they were out of their comfort zone. "My breasts just won't hide themselves sometimes."

"You've either gained weight, or simply turned crazy. You have no breasts whatsoever, Fran, stop being idiotic." With another flick against Fran's forehead, he stumbled back for dramatics, a mocking horrified expression across his face. "_Nee-sama _wasn't on the phone to you earlier." For evidence, Kyouya withdrew his own from his pocket, lighting up the screen as he searched for something.

Fran mentally cursed before deciding to keep his lie going. "B-Cup could have forgotten, you know how hopeless she is."

"Without her you wouldn't be here," Kyouya reminded him with a stern gaze.

"She tripped!" Fran explained for the umpteenth time, breaking eye contact as he crossed his arms. There were some lines that he couldn't cross, and he'd already tested them earlier that day. One of the people that Kyouya didn't want to be taunted right in front of his face had to have been his "sister" of sorts. She was six years older than them and barely appeared, but always tried to keep in touch. Though, it didn't work well when Fran answered the phone, insulted her than hung up. He wasn't too keen on her attitude, especially the attacks—or, rather, hugs—that she sent his way whenever they met. His view on her was completely different to Kyouya's, and he never allowed himself to be corrected. Forever wrong, he was.

"She gave us her apartment." Fran could feel Kyouya's glare on his face, not ceasing as the seconds ticked by. If he was looking for some sort of apology for doubting the female—one that had almost scarred him from the stupid antics she pulled—he was definitely barking up the wrong tree. "And you do nothing but annoy her."

"I do nothing but annoy you, _Senpai_." Fran took his turn to annoy the brunet right back, arching an eyebrow as they made eye contact again. Classes were still in session at that moment, making it so their breaths were audible from the lack of noise. If too much noise was created, no one would've bothered to tell them to do anything. Kyouya had some sort of a strange power from his complex of being in control. Although it had caused them to be alone as they were at that time—isolated where they had been for years—it still ceased to amaze him. Sometimes, though, Fran had to doubt him. "It's one of my most charming points, didn't you know?"

"One of them certainly isn't calling me that," Kyouya proclaimed, frowning before he turned around and slumped against the wall, in his previous position. That time Fran joined him, his back sliding against the wall before he was settled down, arms by his sides with his knees drawn to his chest.

"This is like sitting on a fat cat."

"You've never sat on a fat cat, Fran," he pointed out, closing his eyes. The smaller male simply shrugged to himself, agreeing in his mind that it was how he imagined it would have felt—uncomfortable, and easy to feel any of the lumps below. "Go to class."

"Not while you're limping, tofuhead." Just because the taller male acted indifferent, and Fran tried to mask what was going on in his head most of the time didn't mean their relationship was strained. There was a small bit of concern, Fran having mentioned nothing to Mukuro out of it. "I know what happened."

Surprisingly, Kyouya froze. Fran blinked in surprise, turning his head slowly to see whether the reaction was true. Almost teasing Kyouya clenched the hand nearest to the teal-haired male into a fist, though not moving it from beside him. "You do?" he asked through his teeth, voice practically a growl.

"Your poor pride was shattered to pieces," Fran drawled, placing a hand over his heart for effect. It didn't have the light-hearted effect he had hoped for—if he was any weaker, he might have flinched from the intensity of the glare that came his way. "Your secret isn't safe with me," he continued, nodding his head. "I'll sell it to the press, you know I would."

That might have actually been a good idea; many had wanted to know what Kyouya Hibari's weakness was—if he possibly had one—and interviewing the new teacher seemed the best option to know how. Fran told himself to remember to ask, or, rather, demand to know the details. He could have easily planned to eavesdrop on the two again, but then again he had been caught the first time.

"To—" Fran had started before a breath of surprise escaped his lips. He was pressed against the cold cement of the floor before he could have so much as blinked, shock onto reflected in his irides for a moment or two. The harsh metal of a tonfa was against his throat, restricting some of his airflow but not enough to have been harmful. It was a threat, that was all, just like the temperature of the steel.

"If you're threatening me," Kyouya growled, pressing the tonfa closer, "I won't hesitate to eliminate you."

"You don't have the guts," the teal-haired male mocked monotonously, not convinced at all that the damage he'd receive would be fatal. Of course he'd been on the receiving end of cuts, scratches and scrapes galore, but it had never been enough to send him to the hospital. "All you tell are lies, right, _Kyouya_?"

"You..." A sick thrill ran through him as he watched the brunet glare at him. There were reasons they had been both abandoned, of course, and only at times like them did the they become apparent. The tonfa was pressed harder against his throat—enough to leave a bruise at a later time, surely a dark one, too—as Kyouya narrowed his eyes.

"I knew you both couldn't stay off each other for long," a voice cut them off, a bored drawl one that they both could recognise instantly. The weapon wasn't removed as they slowly turned their heads, though, kept firmly in place while determining whether the interruption was worth it. "Hand over the money, Haru."

Along with the loud footsteps, a hybrid between a squawk and a shriek escaped a woman's mouth. "_F-Fran_!" she gasped.

**AN: **Due to personal problems this chapter is extremely late, so sorry for that. I've been drawing a lot more, too, that's taken up a lot of time. Kuro and I weren't on speaking terms after the last update, so she will no longer be helping with Fran's speech. This chapter and from now on will solely just be my attempt; in advance, I'm sorry for my loose interpretation of him. Fran will _not _be paired up with Belphegor in this story, and I don't think Belphegor will be involved at all. Sorry to those of you who were expecting as such, but I did clearly write in the summary which were the main pairings.

So! Two new characters introduced, but only Haru will be a main. It should be obvious who Kyouya's big sister is, right? If not... oh dear. The idea came from a joke between my good friend and I, and it seemed to fit so well with this fanfic that I wanted to include it. I know this update is short, and it's a bad attempt at Fran, but it should do for now while I get myself accustomed to writing again. I'm so tempted to include Bluebell in this, but I know I'll shove Dino and Fran out of the way for her. I can't do that~

Don't forget to keep voting! Even if I'm lame at updating.

Yes, yes! The votes so far are:

Dino: 40 / Fran: 16


	4. The Guilt's a Catalyst

**Phoenix of Starlight: **There will be in due time! I need to have some plot first, for once, and give Fran a little more depth. Don't worry, there's reasons behind this. Haha, butterbutt's one of my worst insults! The last chapter was rushed without any plans, I apologise. **DragonKnight1775: **Same, don't worry! Thank you for the compliment, it means a lot. **Traum-Alptraum: **Just realised how hard it is to type your name early in the morning/night lmao. Woe is me for having to retype it at least three times until it was right. Fran's seriously annoying, isn't he? ._. I couldn't tone him down. LMAO! Isolated classroom action will be there someday, I promise you. XD Sob sob, no one understood who his sister was. **ShiShiRuKe: **Thank you, Hubby! /loves on you **Paradoxismminant: **I told you I would! Don't underestimate me, ohoho. **Kurosawa-Kun: **Fufu, I look forward to it then! 6918! D8 -hides away- No, I definitely need you! My Fran was just... no. XD /loves on you **ZirciX: **Welcome back, haha. And this is where I call you crazy: I don't read the manga and I don't remember the anime, haha. ;) B-Cup's Haru! fgjhfgj that epiphany is disgusting GET IT AWAY FROM ME. **nightingale mistress: **Haha, thank you! ~oh dear Haru, she'll be oblivious forever~ **NothingIcanSay: **It's fine! I just like pointing it out when it happens since it's amusing. c: Don't fake my accent! You are godly! ;v; Tsk tsk, reading while studying. You can multitask well, though, so I congratulate you. K-kissing? I was going more for "oh for fuck sake they're killing each other again" approach, but sure, why not? LOL! LAL? XDD I do have Lal as Kyouya's family in another fic, but not this one! You'll see, you'll see. **  
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_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明 _

Chapter Four—The Guilt's a Catalyst  
><em>During this time I go through with you, my feelings alone are all that live. <em>

Viper was the first to react to Haru's exclamation of the green-haired male's name. He rolled his eyes, pushing past the smaller girl before walking across the rooftop, making it so his footsteps were louder than necessary. As always, he kept eye contact with Kyouya for far longer than was needed before averted his gaze, letting it fall onto his little brother of sorts. As Kyouya considered his relationship to be one almost of siblings with Haru, Viper considered the same with Fran, even though the smaller male had never shown any sort of positive response to being dubbed as such.

"This is _exactly _why I didn't want you to to be together," Viper drawled, his mid-length violet hair falling over his expression for a moment until the wind swiped it out of the way. "You don't get along, even if you insist you do."

"We don't," Kyouya agreed, blinking. He was still in the same position as before, the tonfa pressed against Fran's throat as he refused to move. His grip hadn't been altered, nor was the cold steel of his weapon pulled away by at least a fraction. Only a small amount of his attention was somewhere else, but the situation at hand was the most important to him. "You may have him back, if you wish."

"I'd rather not." Viper frowned in return. "He's an annoyance, just as you are, too."

The brunet narrowed his eyes. "Your words are nicer every time we meet, Viper." They were forgetting that there were two more besides them on the scene, and to remind himself of it, Kyouya pressed the tonfa further against the smaller male's throat, waiting for the distinctive sound of a gasp or at least his breathing being affected. "Why are you here this time?"

"You two just leech our money. Get jobs, do _something _so I don't have to see that pitiful expression you try to hide." He scoffed, frowning afterwards. "My intention was to kick you both into the right mindset, but if you're going to kill each other," Viper drawled before adding, "as I'd always suspected you would, please, do continue." With a dismissive wave of his hand, Haru stepped in and huffed before grabbing hold of Viper's hand, pulling it down to place it down by his thigh. She intertwined their fingers soon after that, staring at him was an odd expression.

"You two get along as well as ever." She beamed slightly before her expression became horrified again as she set her eyes onto the two males on the floor. In response, Kyouya sighed under his breath, trying to resist the urge to roll his eyes much as Viper had done so before. He didn't want to be like him—if there was anyone he disliked more than him, there was _only _one. "Kyouya, please," Haru said with a stern expression.

"I," Kyouya had started before biting down onto his tongue, sending a glare Fran's way before pushing himself up from the ground. He kept his hands firmly gripping his weapons, staring down at the male as he pushed himself up, too, seemingly unaffected from the lack of air within his lungs. Fran simply took a few deep breaths before mockingly making a peace sign with his fingers towards Viper. "I want nothing to do with him any more," he announced before striding past the two adults. Agitated, the waves were practically radiating from him.

Haru immediately responded with a disapproving tone. "Kyouya..."

"Nothing," he spat over his shoulder, making eye contact with Viper as he had said so. The one thing that he didn't like was how they were connected—the longer he stared at the older male, the more he saw him within Fran. The marks around their eyes, their attitudes sometimes, when the situation concerned money, and the disapproving but cold gaze they would both sometimes have. If he had to deal with one only sometimes, having Fran looking like a mirror image, with only a different hair and eye colour, was just as bad.

He suspected that the only reason Viper had ever helped them was since Fran had become his friend of sorts. Then, he'd gotten through to Haru, too, and naturally she'd taken a liking to him. Before long they were together far too often and from seeing her smiling to herself on the oddest of occasions, Kyouya supposed that it would've ruined some of the only happiness she had by suggesting that he wasn't as nice as he had seemed. When Haru had been old enough to legally leave the orphanage, she had done so quickly. Viper had left a year before, but they'd still kept in contact—the apartment that she'd given them had belonged to the both of them n the beginning, and just the thought was sickening.

Kyouya had been stubborn at first, refusing to sleep within one of the rooms from some of the thoughts that were in his head. And then seeing Fran stick his head through the door to enquire why he wasn't asleep only made it worse.

When he and Fran had left, they weren't at the right age, and yet Viper had gone back to sort out of the documents. How he had been able to do it so quickly and able to lie in the meantime had been a complete mystery at the time, and at that moment it still was.

It's just for Fran's sake, Kyouya reminded himself. Was he looking too far into the older male's actions, or was Viper simply determined to show that anything close to him could be easily acquired? They weren't comfortable in the same room, much less when it was just the two of them. By distancing himself from Fran it would be for the sake of his pride, to prove that he was able to live by myself and not needing to share with others. As selfish as it was, he stuck to it.

-x-

From spending only one night away from the apartment and purposely keeping his phone switched off, Kyouya's mood had deteriorated extremely. Though, that didn't mean that his pride had, too. That was still fully in tact as he strode into the classroom the next morning, purposely avoiding eye contact with Fran as he settled himself down onto a seat upon a different desk, blatantly ignoring the other as it was on the other side of the room. If anyone of his classmates had noticed, they didn't say a thing as the lesson continued.

And then before he knew it, days were continuing like that. The brunet had soon found himself sleeping through lessons, either walking around the streets endlessly when it was time for night and solving all of his problems within the school—meaning showering and such—but it did mean his health was taking a hit for his pride. Although the food wasn't exactly great from the convenience store and the money within his bank account wasn't all that much, it was becoming harder to be independent. Fran and him still made eye contact on rare occasions, but chose not to go any further than that. When they did look at each other, it seemed like a contest of sorts to see who would look away first, or whom would be called upon by the teacher at the worst moment.

Although Kyouya hadn't done his homework in the first year, he'd somehow made some appear in the beginning of the second. And since he and Fran were no longer speaking, he didn't see the point of it. There were a couple of lectures from the teacher, yet he simply looked away and diverted his attention to somewhere else when the time called for it. He didn't seem to care what was being said, nor the comments that were passing around the classroom from his behaviour. Fran was still as emotionless as ever, yet he wasn't handing in his homework, too.

After the exchange between him and Dino in the beginning, they hadn't spoken properly since. None of his questions had been answered, and Kyouya didn't want to go out of his way to approach the other. It would have been too out of character for him; staying behind in class or sticking his hand in the air wasn't like him at all. So, he concluded that he wasn't going to start just to quench his curiosity. With his behaviour already being odd from not conversing with Fran, he didn't want more rumour circulating around them and then counsellors approaching him, too. It was bound to happen in due time, after all. The school's counsellors were far too busy butting their heads into everyone's business, attempting to convince them that they could actually help. He wanted to keep his distance until the curiosity died down—meaning, the brunet slept through Dino's class just as any other, not regarding him any different. Even if there were unanswered questions in his mind, he pushed them aside and kept his attention on what was important: appearing fine.

Though, it was obvious he wasn't doing as well as he had thought when he awoke with a dark, noting that it was past the end of class time. He scanned the room to see what had caused the noise to wake him up, raising his eyebrows in bewilderment when he saw Dino standing at the front, leaning down to rest his elbows on the desk as he raised his own eyebrows in questioning.

"Are you sleeping through my lessons out of spite?" he asked in a thoughtful tone, averting his eyes as if it was supposed to make the other feel comfortable. "I thought that at first, but then in the staff room you were brought up as the topic of our conversation. Sleeping through every class, you are."

Kyouya frowned, irked that the blonde was even bothering to repeat anything that he already knew at that moment. Of course he knew what he was doing, and also how it was effecting his grades—it was as clear as glass.

"You must also know that you haven't produced one piece of work in over a week, nor have you approached any teacher to give an excuse, whine about your life or even blatantly state that you're not interested in your education." Dino's expression became dubious as he knitted his eyebrows together, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood up straight.

The atmosphere around them was awkward, even if Dino was located on the other side of the classroom. He could have still gone further, or even given up fully. Kyouya had to give him a little credit, though, as he had the stupidity to actually approach him about the subject; the new approach was new to him, too, as none of the other teachers had bothered before. Was there an ulterior motive that he should have taken note of? If there was, Kyouya wasn't that concerned.

As Kyouya frowned, the blonde mirrored his expression. "Is this to get back at me?" Dino asked seriously.

"No." The brunet blinked, surprised for a moment before he was able to control his mood reflecting upon his face. The agitation still leaked into his tone, though, as his eyes quickly darted around the room to see if there was anyone there at all. "I have nothing to do with you." No one was there. Just his bag, himself and then Dino by the front desk.

"We both know that's a lie." Dino ran his hand through his hair, momentarily revealing his forehead. "Then _why _are you jeopardising your education just to sleep on your desk? Anyone who does that normal has an excuse," he explained before carrying on, holding up his hand to count upon his fingers. "Health issues, family problems." Two fingers had gone down as his voice was getting lower. "Domestic abuse, mental problems." Two more, only one left as Dino took in a shaky breath. "_Rape_. You name it, there's reasons."

The emphasis on rape was more than obvious. Raising a thin eyebrow, Kyouya proclaimed, "I've never been raped, or any of what you've mentioned." At least from his knowledge, that was. If there were any problems with his life before he was placed into the orphanage, he had no clue whatsoever. It could have simply been his mind blocking out the memories, or he'd forced himself to forget over the years—get rid of the memories that weren't important, or from the time and age he was living in. "I'm _fine_."

"Then show it by doing your work." Dino nodded, locking eyes again.

Kyouya stubbornly crossed his arms as he noticed Dino's were by his sides at that point. "No."

"What reason do you have to refuse?" Dino sighed, seemingly exasperated as he ran his hand through his hair again. Nerves, apparently, as he frowned. The troubled expression across his face had only been present the last time—through classes, the blonde was far too happy teaching, even if he had stumbled over his words at certain points. From what Kyouya had heard, he was liked. "This is harder than I thought it would be."

"Don't you need at least one troublesome student?" Kyouya asked, rolling his eyes before pushing himself up from the desk. Reaching down beside him, he averted his eyes while picking up his bag before placing it upon is shoulder, making sure everything was within it beforehand. "Be thankful it's me, herbivore."

"Thankful?" Dino laughed openly that time instead of sniggering underneath his breath. The brunet identified the noise easily beforehand, as Haru had done it far too many times in the past when it wasn't necessary. There wasn't any reason to laugh at the demeaning name. "Gosh, you're the reasons for all of my problems at the moment, I swear," he mumbled, mostly to himself but the brunet was able to catch the point of his words.

"Why don't you just give up?" Kyouya questioned with an exasperated tone, staying rooted to the spot while he decided whether to simply leave the room or not. If he had just left, did it seem like he had given up? That certainly wasn't the case, but he didn't want to accidentally encourage the blonde to poke into his business more than necessary. "I'm not a delinquent," he denied, announcing his own opinion. "I don't carry a knife around with me." Still, there was a weapon permanently within his jacket, but he was going to keep that to himself for now. From what he knew, Dino didn't know about it at all. "I don't associate with others either, so there's no problem. Stop _trying _to get involved."

"Well, I'm sorry for being concerned with how your grades are," Dino snapped before biting his tongue, averting his eyes when he realised his temper had gotten the better of him. In response, Kyouya blinked in surprise from the slip up that had happened, quite shocked that it had happened at all. Of course, when they first met the blonde had let his composure slip back then, but he had been completely fine ever since. Maybe, though, that was since it hadn't just been the two of them. "No one else seemed to be bothered with you. So I'm _sorry _for wanting to show you there's actually a teacher who does."

"Apology not accepted, then," the brunet murmured in return, narrowing his eyebrows. If it was going to be a repeat of the year before, there was definitely going to soon be a good enough reason for his grades to slip and attendance to fall drastically. "You're just like the last teacher."

"I am nothing like Mukuro and even if I was, I'd hate myself for it." Dino childishly pouted, crossing his arms over his chest as his lower lip jutted out. When Kyouya realised another slip up; meaning that he could tell that they were both somehow connected, he stiffened, expecting the worst at that moment. Had it been a set up to get back at him again? "We specialise in the same subject, that's it. He still gets me into shit." As soon as the swear word had left his mouth, Dino dramatically placed his hand over it, as if trying to take back the word. "Forget I said that, please. Even if I'm going to get fired already, I want this to last just a little bit longer."

"And why would you be getting fired already?" Kyouya asked, grasping his bag's handle tighter than before when he realised it had slipped through his mouth without really thinking about it. It made him seem interested in the other, even though it was only a slight amount.

"Because of you." Dino knitted his eyebrows together again, his tone slightly mocking as if he was conveying that the answer was obvious. "Please, cut the act already. I'm not falling for it again."

Falling for what? Kyouya thought to himself, that time frowning in confusion. Instead of taking a step forward, he leaned backwards against the desk, sitting lightly on the edge while still staring at the older male. "I think you've confused me with someone else," he pointed out with a mocking tone.

Dino shook his head. "Oh, I don't think that's possible, Kyouya."

Stiffening at the sound of his first name, Kyouya corrected him. "_Hibari_."

"I'm sticking with what you told me." The blonde frowned. "You're Kyouya to me, unless we're in class. Then I have to call you either your last name, or full name. That's how it's going to be and stay." He shrugged his shoulders as though it wasn't a big deal. "Everyone's already calling me Dino, so why don't you, still?"

Kyouya blinked. "I don't recall ever having called you that."

"I said drop the act."

"There is no act to drop," he defended himself stubbornly, the set of his jaw becoming squared in indignation. "Why are you assuming everything is about you? We've met before, yes, but there's nothing more to it than that. There's _nothing _to remember about it, so stop pestering me with your useless comments." The brunet pushed himself away from the desk, purposely striding across the room as one of his hands was practically itching to reach into his jacket for his own defence. He could feel Dino's eyes on his face as he crossed the room, stepping down the aisle just beside where his desk was.

"Okay, okay," Dino humoured him in an odd tone, stepping forward to approach the other. "I get it. You don't want to remember and that's fine, really, it is." He took another step, not noticing as Kyouya's fingers pressed against the smooth metal of his tonfa as a reflex. "Will you at least allow me to apologise and attempt to convince you I'm actually concerned for your grades?"

"No," Kyouya grunted, firmly gripping his weapon at that point. The blonde was still unaware as to what was happening, blindly taking a step forward without thinking of the consequences. Really, he had given the other enough warning—Dino should have been alerted already that it wasn't safe to invade his personal space. "Get away," he hissed.

Dino still didn't listen to his words or body language. "No," he copied Kyouya's previous tone, not noting the frustration without the set of the brunet's jaw. "You're supposed to listen to me."

"Wrong," he proclaimed, knocking Dino's outstretched hand with far too much strength. With his other he was still gripping onto his tonfa, debating in his mind whether to reveal it or not. Surely, Dino's reaction would've been not what he was expecting, and probably going to cause him problems later in the week.

"I'm not oblivious to what you're doing," Dino stressed, grimacing while looking at his hand before he pushed his luck again. Taking another step forward, he continued to be persistent. "There's definitely something wrong."

Before he could give the other a proper amount of time to think about what was happening, Kyouya had pushed him away with his tonfa that time. The thud as the metal connected with his body was unmistakable, just like the shocked expression that crossed Dino's expression before he winced. The blow was hard enough to leave a dark bruise the coming day and with the action rendering the blonde quiet for a good amount of time, Kyouya took it as his time to leave.

-x-

Later that night, Kyouya supposed his pride was acting up again. Maybe it was from the thought that he wasn't comfortable within the classroom any more, but then he quickly disregarded that and then proclaimed within his mind that he needed to find a more comfortable place. And when he found that the amount of money within his account was enough that he needed to keep for the long time rather than spending it immediately, he ground his teeth together while pondering what to do. Giving up and then going to see Fran was out of the question, but there was one more option that he was attempting to forget.

Yet as his feet trudged towards to the other apartment before he had realised it, Kyouya bit down onto his bottom lip. It was just a natural reaction—it wasn't as though he was going to tell her everything, just to talk for a small amount of time was enough. They had been apart for awhile, too, making the strained conversation from over a week ago even more awkward now that he had looked back upon it. Entering the building he had visited only a few times—since Haru usually stayed with a friend when she appeared in Namimori—Kyouya grimaced to himself before sucking up a small bit of his pride.

Knocking on the wood of the door, he stiffened when he heard voices from within. That meant that she wasn't going t be alone, and there was _definitely _going to be too much noise from within if he was seen. The friend wasn't exactly one that he liked a lot, and went as far as to avoid all of the time if he ever caught sight of him upon the street. It wasn't as though he hated Haru's particular friend; it was just that the first time they had met, when he was even more awkward than he was at that moment, it hadn't gone particularly well. Having his hair ruffled while a greeting was exclaimed wasn't the best way to approach him, after all.

When the door opened, Kyouya's expression became even more irritated than before. "Viper," he said, making sure to place his hand on the door to make it so it couldn't be shut on him. "Where's Haru?"

"Where do you think she is when we're here?" Viper raised an eyebrow, almost mockingly if the tone wasn't completely neutral. Although with the disapproving stare from having turned up without any notice at all, that was all there was to it. No verbal refusals of any sort. "Don't let him get to you, too."

Kyouya blinked, surprised that the older male had stepped aside to allow him to come inside without any further protest. Maybe it was just him imagining things—if Viper had finally approved of him, it wouldn't have been when he'd finally distanced himself from Fran. He stepped inside without a complaint, checking out of the corner of his eyes to see if the coast was clear before slipping his shoes off and padding through the rooms.

As expected, Haru was within the bedroom with the other male. Viper had walked off somewhere else in the apartment, most likely distancing himself for a good reason and making sure he was out of sight, really, meaning that when the brunet was idly standing outside the main bedroom, he stiffened while wondering whether to leave or push his luck further.

"Better safe than sorry," he murmured, gripping a tonfa with one hand before opening the door, inwardly grimacing as the creak was only audible to him, soon drowned out by a loud squeal. One that, in fact, didn't come from Haru.

"My gosh, I always knew that was your colour. But you never listened to me now, did you?" the male gushed, clasping his hands together as he stared intently at Haru spinning around slowly on the spot, testing out a new piece of clothing. "You may keep it. I'm amazing, I know, you don't need to tell me again."

"Oh, Luss." Haru smiled warmly, not realising that there was someone else present in the room. Standing still on the spot after regaining her balance, and shamelessly kicking off the shoes she had on, she seemed chuffed with herself, puffing her chest proudly. "You sure you don't want one of my latest creations in return?"

Lussuria's reaction was almost comical. He snorted before covering his mouth with his hand, trying to pretend that the noise didn't happen at all. "No, it's fine, really," he denied her with a dismissive wave of his most likely manicured hand.

A hand that had been saw too close to Kyouya beforehand, causing him to grimace before attempting to close the door and walk away unnoticed. The creak of the hinges was louder than before, though, meaning that it could be heard over their quiet laughter.

"Look who it is." Lussuria raised an eyebrow, purposely jabbing her in the ribs. "I'll keep my perfect skin over here, thank you very much." He nodded, sitting down onto the beanbag in the corner of the room.

"Good." Kyouya scowled in return, making sure to make eye contact for as little time as possible. He was, however, waiting to see what Haru's reaction would have been. Still he wasn't able to figure out what her first reaction to seeing him was going to be; considering that the last time they'd seen each other, he was openly threatening Fran whom she had always considered him close to, he was expecting completely different to what she did.

"My gosh, _Kyouya_!" she exclaimed loudly, pivoting upon her heel within seconds and causing herself to fall onto the floor with a low thud. Laughing at her slip up along with Lussuria in the background, Kyouya only blinked. She mumbled about pain for awhile, too, before shaking her head to snap herself out of it, clutching the bed to pull herself up. "That didn't go according to plan, damn it."

"Things with you never do." The brunet smirked before he caught Lussuria looking at him peculiarly, adopting the blank expression again.

"Yes, yes, laugh it up." Haru rolled her eyes while smoothing out her clothes of any wrinkles, the apples of her cheeks darkening in colour. "I've been so worried about you, Kyouya."

"...Why?" He furrowed his eyebrows, slightly perplexed. "There was no reason to be."

"No reason to be?" Haru gasped, proceeding to glance at him as if he were a mad man. On the beanbag, discreetly, Lussuria leaned back as if he was enjoying their conversation. "You were rude to not only Viper but to Fran, too, before disappearing for more than a _week_. Where have you ever been? I went to your apartment and everything!" The older female jutted her lower lip out while crossing her arms over her chest, completely forgetting her happy attitude from only moments before.

"I've been at school, still." He shrugged, indicating that it wasn't a big deal. "I have other places to go rather than staying with him. Did you think I would go crawling back there?" Kyouya leaned against the bedroom wall beside the door, straining his ears to see if there was any other noise within the apartment. From what he could tell, it was only him and Haru that were talking at that moment. Though, he was contemplating whether finding a door that had always been unlocked within the other side of the school was considered a place to go at all or simply luck.

"Oh, come on." She sighed dramatically, shaking her head in time with the noise. "Why must you fight now of all times? You know nothing good comes out of it."

Although he and Fran had fought in the past, they had never lasted very long at all. They never apologised to each other, instead just acting as though nothing had ever happened by either using insulting language to strike up a conversation or mock the other slightly. It had worked in the past, yet they still weren't doing anything more than making eye contact. That was all there was to it, and he was refusing to be the first to give up.

"You don't know that." He raised an eyebrow, pushing the point out of his mind quickly. "Maybe Fran can finally learn to have some respect, and realise people have names, maybe."

"I'm refusing to believe you fell out over names." Haru shook her head again, mirroring his pose by lightly tapping her foot on the ground. "That started years ago and you don't like bringing up the past. See! You're stiffening up just by me mentioning it."

"Then don't mention it, _Nee-sama_." It was true that he had stiffened slightly, meaning that his muscles had unintentionally tensed, from the mention of the past. He allowed himself to think of it, of course, but mentioning it verbally was too awkward sometimes. "It's none of your business," he said without thinking about his words.

Haru widened her eyes at first before frowning, furrowing her eyebrows in the process before a thoughtful expression came across her face. "None of my business," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head before pointing towards him suddenly with her index finger. "Then, tell me," she demanded in a shrill voice, "who pushed you two together after Fran had set fire to your clothes?"

"You did," he said through clenched teeth. "I get it, I _get _it," Kyouya repeated for emphasis in an exasperated tone. "But that's not going to convince me to tell you."

How was he supposed to tell her it was a misunderstanding? Fran had apparently acquired information that he had no recollection of—if it was an empty threat, where he didn't know exactly what had happened between him and Dino. How had Fran known; was it possible he'd followed after him when the bet of sorts had been placed? Though,that didn't explain the holes in his memory very well. Fran had acted as though nothing had happened he next day and it seemed that only Dino knew what had been going on. Had they explained names before inflicting some kind of bruises on each other? Although they were mostly faded at that moment, Kyouya wasn't oblivious to the red and purple marks that had been across his torso, legs and neck before they'd disappeared. Certainly, they weren't the normal colour of bruises and he was starting to fear for the worse. From the almost intimate way his name was called from only a few hours ago to Dino's attitude, something had definitely gone wrong.

"Don't let it happen again," she said with a stern expression and instead of returning with a rude comment, Kyouya averted his eyes instead, knowing exactly what she was referring to.

Yet he found himself contradicting his thoughts. "Viper can deal with him."

-x-

A loud slapping noise stirred Kyouya from his sleep. He pushed himself up from the desk quickly, blinking in surprise when he first saw that the class was still in session. He pinpointed where the noise had came from quickly; narrowing his eyes as Dino turned around just after he'd caught sight of the smile etched across his lips. Rubbing his eyes afterwards, the brunet sighed under his breath before checking the time on his phone. Almost the end, he told himself, yawning into his hand the next moment.

Haru had convinced Lussuria to let Kyouya stay for two nights, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still awkward being around them. Plus, Viper was looking at him more strangely than before, too, meaning that he was wondering whether the older male was eventually going crazy. Purposely pressing into his eyes harder than necessary, even after yawning, to make himself more alert and able to think straight, he hissed under his breath from the feeling.

It was the last lesson of the day and after it had ended, Kyouya was planning on letting his anger out on some unsuspecting stranger, or student, rather than Haru. It wouldn't have ended well if he had unleashed it upon Lussuria or even Viper, as they were happily providing more than enough food and essentials without really needing to. It wasn't as though he'd said a word about staying there—even if it was his intention—Haru had quickly announced that he had to be under her _wing_, as she lightly put it, for a few days to see if he was okay or not, mentally. Rather, it was her who needed the mental health check for her erratic moods.

"Anyone without their homework done needs to stay behind and either produce it in your own time, or provide a good enough excuse." Without a doubt, the blonde was staring at him while he ignored it, looking instead out of the window to his left. It was certainly odd still being separated from Fran, but since he couldn't see his reflection in the window, the angle he was at was perfect. "No, staying behind doesn't mean we can talk casually. Anyone left here _will _be doing their work," he stressed before laughing slightly.

Running his hand through his hair, Kyouya decided to leave with everyone else.

"Kyouya Hibari." Maybe he couldn't leave as subtly as he had hoped. "I'm guessing you'll be staying behind?" Dino asked in a neutral voice, although the twitch of his eyebrow suggested he had wanted to adopt a different tone.

"No." Kyouya crossed his arms over his chest, voice deeper than usual from grogginess.

"So you've done your work?" Dino blinked, surprised for a moment before he whistled quietly. "Wait, wait." He shook his head. "That's just you refusing to stay, right?" Apparently the blonde was starting to know his personality more—no homework was how it was going to stay, and he wasn't going to waste a ridiculous amount of time just to have a repeat of yesterday. Surely there had been a bruise left from their encounter, yet Dino wasn't phased at all from it; he seemed to have been forgetting it, even, as usually a teacher would've made a fuss about being hit from a student.

To answer he simply nodded his head firmly, only once.

And with that movement over and done with, he was sure that Fran was smirking at that moment while Dino was pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. It was usually left up to the green-haired male to torture their new teachers at least a little bit, but since the first day, from what the brunet could tell they had hardly spoken to each other. Was he alone in it then? Although, it wasn't intentional.

When the rest of the class were ushered out since the lessons had ended for the day, Kyouya stayed within his seat with the intention of making the conversation as quick, painless and as obvious as possible. He needed to make sure what Dino expected of him, and how he expected the blonde to act like the rest of the teachers. They didn't hassle him, since they had practically given up, and that was how he should have been acting, too.

"Let's get this over and done with, then." Dino sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again as he was closer than before, leaning onto the desk three in front of where the brunet was seated. "You're still not doing any work at all, are you?"

Kyouya just stared at him as if he were an idiot. The answer was obvious—he hadn't even unpacked his bag that day, instead placing it beside his feet before sleeping upon his arms even though he had had at least a good amount of sleep the night before. It could not have hurt to have more, though, as he always urged himself.

"I'll have to call your parents if this happens to continue, but I think that you know that already." Dino ran his fingers through his hair again, not making eye contact as he had murmured that. Surprise flickered across his expression when Kyouya snorted quietly from the words, not finding them threatening at all. Really, who was he going to call? "I'm not bluffing."

"Good luck with that." Kyouya smirked, shaking his head at how oblivious the older male. If there were no parents to contact, then of course discipline wasn't going to be as strict where he lived. "There won't be any answer."

"Wrong number?" the blonde questioned, sighing afterwards as he imagined that his guess was correct. Possibly it had been done in the past to him, but then again as Kyouya considered his age, he didn't think so.

"Wrong lifetime is more like it," he murmured quietly, rolling his eyes at the other's oblivious comments. "There's nothing you can do."

"I'm doing more than anyone else, it seems." He raised his eyebrow until it dropped back down, Dino clearing his throat as he did the same to his expression. "I don't get it, Kyouya. You say you're fine and now I just think you're looking for attention, really."

The brunet blinked in bewilderment. "And why would I want this attention?"

"Who knows?" The older male shrugged, perplexed by the mere thought. "Maybe to get your friend to talk to you again?" He was definitely referring to Fran, and with the mention of him being pathetic enough to do such a thing, Kyouya scowled in disapproval. With his lips in a firm curve down, Dino apparently paid no notice to it. "It'll get you noticed, but probably not in the way you want."

"...Your impression of me is wrong," Kyouya interrupted him bluntly, a serious expression across his face as he scowled. His eyes had become narrowed despite his best attempts at seeming neutral. "Severely wrong."

Without hesitation, Dino agreed with him. "Definitely. I need to fix it."

Was the comment supposed to be sarcastic? "Quite." He wanted to say that he would never have stooped that low at any point, but he assumed that would've been initiating more conversation than was necessary. He reached down to pick up his bag after that, deeming the talk over—at least for that moment—and choosing to force himself to forget that there was someone else in the room.

Noticing his reaction, Dino sighed again, that time quieter than before before saying, "At least take some notes in classes if you're not going to work outside of class. If I see you sleeping again, I'll throw something."

Swiftly walking past Kyouya only replied, "I'll make sure to throw it back twice as hard."

**AN: **Trying to focus on college more while writing in my spare time and I have to say, it isn't working well so far, haha. Okay, so! Haru was supposed to be the older sister of sorts and then Viper was there, too, but it wasn't obvious at all unless you were me. No Fran moments in this chapter but as I've said before the pairing is _not _decided. After chapter eight, I'll stop the voting _(as I've got things planned out) _and then the pairing with the most votes will win. That's it, simple, and it looks like it's Dino right now. I don't particularly like Fran and Kyouya together anymore, haha, I don't know what I was on at the time.

Would anyone want to be my beta? ;A; I don't like asking different people every single time. /gets nervous. Thanks for all the reviews, too!

Keep the votes coming! _(Only four more chapters left to vote in!) _So far it's:

Dino: 42 / Fran: 17


	5. A Coward, Always

**moonlightskymist: **Thanks for the offer! n**ightingale mistress: **Haru and Lussuria are definitely best friends, it has to happened somewhere. D8 Yup, I made Kyouya a complete light weight so he's the type not to remember after he's had a drink until when he's woken up. That detail makes this story more fun. XD I'd love for you to be my beta! **Traum-Alptraum: **Haru's a perfect sister! ;A; Teaching him all the wrong things by accident. Gotcha! **Yachiru443: **Updated.

_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明 _

Chapter Five—A Coward, Always_  
>Am I not sweet enough for you?<em>

There was no reason for him to care. In reality, there really was, but he stubbornly chose to ignore it. If the other male was paler than he happened to be the day before, it wasn't his fault. Their situation wasn't connected any more; it was up to Fran to take care of himself. Yet with that in mind, Kyouya's eyebrows continued to furrow as soon as they caught sigh of the teal mop of hair. It wasn't his fault, was it?

"No," he told himself firmly, tempted to pinch himself, too, to keep in the same mindset. It might have happened in the past, but it still wasn't his fault. There was a different reason back then, too—all Kyouya was doing was protecting his pride while stubbornly sticking his nose into the air. Practically shunning the smaller male. He hadn't appeared back at _their _apartment for just over a week, and Fran was still not attempting to make conversation. Therefore it was mutual, wasn't it? "It was about time we parted."

"What was that, Hibari?"

Apart from shunning Fran, there was another problem that needed to be dealt with. The strain in holding himself back from snapping was visible in his expression.

"Nothing," he spat, only more irritated as he saw Dino smile in return.

Ever since the blonde had decided that Kyouya was his problem, and his alone as the rest of the teachers had long since given up, he had attempted to strike up a conversation as often as possible. When Kyouya so much as sighed under his breath when they were in the same classroom or even walking down the hallway, Dino had been watching him like a hawk. There was no peace within the school since he had appeared. Even when the brunet had decided to skip a lesson that was unrelated to him, he had appeared and reprimanded him. The main thought that was in his head was wondering why Dino hadn't gotten him disciplined for pushing him before. Violence wasn't allowed at all, yet Dino hadn't brought up the topic even once. It could have finally been the last straw, the very reason he was finally going to be free of school, but apparently not. Even if he hadn't particularly caused trouble most of the time through high school, his record was still bad. Suddenly _perking _up and doing his work as Dino wanted him to do wasn't going to help in his second to last year.

There was one thing, though, that he couldn't seem to get off of his mind. As much as Kyouya had wanted to forget about it and claim that it didn't happen, it was clear that it had. Observing Dino as he carried on with the lesson, noticing that he was slipping in jokes with explanations to attempt to spice up the attention, his eyes trailed down to look at the sleeves of his shirt. Dino had been covering them ever since the first day; there were holes in the brunet's memory, but he was certain he'd seen more of the blonde than just his arm. Why else had they been together in the beginning? Being ignorant and claiming it was a fight, as he had, was the worst thing he could have done. It was akin to pretending to be in a fantasy world, one where only the things he wanted to happen actually came true. He had been idiotic enough to keep his head in the clouds for a few weeks—was it for himself, or to fool Fran? Fran was no longer there to judge him, therefore no one was. Haru was busy entertaining herself with Viper. There was no one to pay attention to him, just how it should have been from the beginning.

And with that clear in his mind, Kyouya decided that there was nothing left to lose.

"Who wants to provide the answer this time?" Dino asked, his eyes travelling around the class and not settling on anyone in particular. When they made eye contact, Kyouya was sure that he saw his lips twitch. "What about you, Hibari?"

"How do you know me?" he enquired.

Dino raised an eyebrow while there were some murmurs amongst the class. As he looked closer, it was clear that his smile was strained as he said, "That's not quite the answer I was looking for but I can go with it. You're my troublesome student." His tone had been dismissive and before Kyouya could reply, he'd moved onto the next student, that time receiving the right answer.

It wasn't what he had wanted to hear. Rather than imagining the worst case scenarios, if Dino provided the missing, and possibly scarring, information maybe he would have felt better about the ordeal.

When the lesson, that happened to be the last one of the day, Kyouya walked in quick and precise steps up to Dino's desk. He placed his hand upon the wood too fast, causing there to be a small thud. "That isn't what I meant."

"I know," Dino said, flipping through the papers in his hands. "Now isn't the time to bring that up, especially since you've done your best to pretend it didn't happen."

His eye twitched. "I don't know what happened." It seemed like Dino was going to be adopting his previous attitude; living in a fantasy world. "Just tell me the bloody details and we can forget about it."

"Details?" Dino blinked, looking up from the pages. "I'm not going to go into detail, it would be too graphic."

That didn't sound innocent at all. With that said, Kyouya's hopes for his ignorant scenario he had in his head was shattered. "Get on with it," he commanded with his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't waited until all of the students were outside of the classroom before he'd approached Dino, but as they made eye contact again they were alone. His breaths were louder inside of his head as he took them, notably quicker, too.

"No." Dino smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "If you don't remember, then you don't have any power between us. You've had your chance to report me, as I have with you, but nothing has happened," he pointed out suspiciously. "Forget about it and move on. I'm your teacher now."

"I don't respect you," Kyouya blurted out. His arms had fallen down to his sides as he clenched his hands into fists. "I never will. There no point in viewing you as a teacher." Not when there had been clear evidence. He just wanted the blonde to say it, to accept what had happened. He wasn't the only one rejecting it, was he? "Tell me one thing, though."

"Answers come with a price," he said. "You've got to answer me in return."

"Did I get into a fight with anyone?" Even you, he added in his head.

Dino raised both of his eyebrows. "No." That meant that Kyouya did, indeed, win the bet as he had suspected. But it was over already, so he couldn't claim bragging rights with Fran. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He didn't expect Dino to ask in that time, "Have you ever had alcohol before?"

"When I was younger." He and Fran had walked into Haru's room at the orphanage when she was at a rebellious stage. She had grown out of smoking at that point, but there were bottles of liquor stashed with hair products. "Why?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I'm not answering any more questions today." Dino shook his head while raising himself up from sitting down. "And don't think you can threaten me to answer you, Kyouya, it's not going to work."

"You're an ass," the brunet ground out, accepting that it wasn't a wise idea to threaten him. There were others in the school still with them, so if there was any sort of violence going on, the thuds were going to be heard. There was no privacy, still. "You should give up already."

Dino looked as though he was holding back a laugh as he looked down at the other. "I'm not going to." He smiled; a small one, but a smile nonetheless. "If I'm the reason you're doing bad in school, I have to make it better, right?"

Kyouya blinked. "You're not the reason for anything." Other than him having a fight with Fran. That was solely Dino's fault, though he was never going to be told about it. It should have been obvious they weren't talking at that point. From the stares from classmates between the two of them and Dino surveying the room whenever it was his lesson, it was sure to have been a topic when he was outside of the room. There wasn't any secrets in high school, too. He had to remember that to survive. "Do I have to bruise you to get answers?"

"That would only get you into deeper trouble," Dino pointed out while rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. "Violence isn't always the answer."

His eye twitched. "I didn't ask for a lecture from a herbivore."

"What is it with you and that word?" the older male blurted out, just as he averted his eyes. He stared at the papers in front of him again, even though they were turned upside down. "You need to fix your vocabulary. It really makes no sense in this day and age."

Rather than kicking him directly, Kyouya kicked the desk. Dino was visibly surprised from the act of violence,leaning down to check underneath the desk before he realised he could only see Kyouya's shoes.

"Fine." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I get it, so there's no need to take your anger out on random things." Holding his hand up with his palm facing the other, Dino was clearly indicating for him to stop and calm down. "Why don't we make a deal then, Kyouya?"

It still irked him that when they were alone, Dino would call his name casually, as though he was used to it. Why would he have introduced himself by his first name, rather than last? That kind of move was practically begging someone to be disrespectful. "That depends on the deal," he said evenly, keeping his emotions masked. What was the worst that could happen?

Dino held up his index finger. "You give me, or any other teacher, one piece of homework and I'll answer one question."

He blinked. "Wouldn't that be bribing?"

"If you want to view it that way, sure." Dino shrugged his shoulders, smiling mostly to himself as he refused to make eye contact again. "That's the only way I'm ever going to answer you."

-x-

He was being far too stubborn. Kyouya accepted the truth easily, but that didn't mean he was going to fix his ways. When him and Dino made eye contact, he either scowled or purposely looked the other way while tilting his chin into the air. There had to have been another way to get answers out of him.

The amount of time he had while school was over wasn't much; there were some days where he went to visit Haru, but quickly left as soon as Viper was there, and not to mention Lussuria. It was awkward, especially the way that Viper seemed to had changed his attitude towards him. It was mutual dislike before, and he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was between them at that point in time. There weren't a lot of conversations to indicate that things had changed; just the look in their eyes. And Kyouya took offence every single time. Was he only good enough, in Viper's standards, when he was separated from Fran? It was a ridiculous thought, one that needed to be pushed aside as long as possible.

When he hadn't been staying with Haru, even if there weren't that many conversations, she was still worried when he slept somewhere else. He did take a day off every now and then, though, and slept in the apartment he shared with Fran when the other was somewhere else; in class, working like he should have been. The thought of how awkward they'd be if they saw each other properly again was enough to grimace. Kyouya was being stubborn, and Fran was just being idiotic. The food that was stored in the cupboards and in the fridge had hardly been touched, some of it gone off from the amount of time it had been there. Kyouya sorted through the food quickly, throwing away what needed to be thrown and then ventured to the store. It was _his _apartment too. He had a right to be there, even more than Fran.

Fran was originally a sidekick of sorts with his sarcastic remarks. He wasn't at all like that when they first met each other—Fran had been almost timid when he was younger, and he was certainly considered the runt of the orphanage. Especially when he didn't say many words, just to hide the accent that slipped through every now and then if he let his emotions show. When had he started wearing a mask? He had let it crack when he hadn't realised, so Kyouya could read him easily from being together. Was it still like that?

Paying for the food with a blank expression, Kyouya packed away the shopping before feeling tempted to fall asleep on his bed. He'd gone made it through the week while refusing to accept the offer that Dino had proposed, purposely sleeping through his, and any other, lesson and wasting his time on silly tasks. Fran hadn't looked his way at all, but he still couldn't hide the shade of his skin.

"That idiot," Kyouya hissed under his breath with his eyebrows knitting together. How could he fix it if they weren't talking to each other? He wasn't going to give up first. "Why now of all times?"

He had thought Fran had grown out of his habit over time, but apparently it had only gotten worse. Kyouya, without a doubt, knew that it was his fault and refused to acknowledge it completely. It was Fran's choice to be an idiot like he was in the past.

Rather than waiting around and doing nothing, Kyouya decided to cook himself a meal for the first time in awhile. It was going to be a relief on his taste buds after accepting Lussuria's dishes for the past week or so, however long it had been while he was there. Just as he'd put the knife down to get a drink halfway through, his phone started to vibrate within his pocket.

"Yes?" he said testily into the phone. He didn't know how his voice had come out, but it wasn't his biggest concern. The water boiling within the pan in front of him was. He stared at in, almost hypnotised by the bubbling.

"Where are you?" Haru asked slowly with a cautious tone. "Lussuria's panicking since you didn't appear last night, and since he crossed you in the street earlier today. I think he's gotten attached to you." That was all the more reason to stay within his own apartment and kick Fran the next time he appeared. "Oh, gosh, don't tell me you're sleeping at the school again. I know you were doing that again." Nothing could ever be kept from Haru. There were points were Kyouya hadn't wanted to appear back at the orphanage, so he'd stayed within the school then, too. It was a safe place of sorts, even if the school changed as he grew up. He realised he couldn't cling to it forever.

He decided to just be honest. "I'm cooking dinner."

"You _what_?" Haru sounded flabbergasted.

He held the phone up to the sound of the cooker for a moment.

"I see," she said when he'd put the phone back to his ear. "Can I assume it's two portions?" Meaning, was it for Fran, too?

"No." The corner of his lip twitched. "He hasn't appeared."

"So he has to be there for you to cook for him? That's so mean, Kyouya," Haru sounded offended even though it wasn't about her. "You know how bad he is at cooking!"

"My kitchen knows."

"Of course, of course." Haru laughed. Fran had been banned from entering the kitchen before he whined about not being able to get coffee. At least he could boil the kettle successfully. "Now I've got to ask this, Kyouya. Please, don't freak out on me."

He grunted, stirring the contents of a pan.

"How are you doing at school?" she asked cautiously.

-x-

A young boy, with features that were much younger than what his expression made him look, was perched upon one of the branches on an oak tree. He was high enough up that he wasn't able to converse with the other children that were on the ground below him. They were treading upon the grass without any concern, one even managing to stand within an ants nest and not realising it. Kyouya, the one who was on the branch, crossed his arms over his chest as he stubbornly refused to come down. The food wasn't worth all the noise within the rooms, and the company from the other children wasn't worth anything at all. The one problem, though, was the quiet boy that had moved into his room. Before he had appeared Kyouya had been alone. None of the other children, from as long as he could remember, had never dared to share the room with him. The bottom bunk of is bunk bed had always been empty, so when it was suddenly filled with a lump that had green hair sticking out of the top of the duvet that had been covering him, saying that Kyouya was taken aback would have been an understatement.

But the green-haired male never spoke. He didn't introduce himself; rather, he stared blankly at the brunet as if expecting him to talk first.

Kyouya had ignored him for as long as he could, but that didn't mean that he wasn't paying attention to what was happening around him. He was unsure of what age the smaller male was, but since they both didn't go to school, there was no way to tell. So the brunet had to guess from the other's habits and routines.

He was as quiet as possible, only coughing and sneezing whenever it was necessary and nodding or shaking his head to indicate yes or no, rather than talking directly to someone. Instead of answering questions, that didn't require a yes or a no, he just stared blankly. He hadn't spoken at all. At exactly the same time each night, he would stumble out of bed to go to the bathroom, and when he was back, the duvet was pulled to cover most of him apart from a few strands of hair. He didn't seem to have any precious possessions, or have any pictures from whatever family he had been in. No thumb sucking, hiding behind whatever he could find, or even sobbing uncontrollably. Only the lack of speaking and the eating habits were the problems with the newcomer.

After two weeks had passed, Kyouya had still not heard him day a word. He was still keeping to the same routine and barely touching his food when it was dinner time. As much as the brunet could understand his dislike of the food, hearing the other's stomach grumble loudly through the night was enough to disturb his sleep. As much as he had wanted to shove food into the smaller male's hands, Kyouya told himself not to get involved with him. He was providing entertainment, after all, until the orphanage would enrol them into the nearest school. The waiting list was far too long, apparently. Someone who hadn't bothered to introduce himself was not worth is time; and clearly, the supervisors thought that, too, as they hadn't said introduced him either.

The green-haired male has ventured outside that day. Kyouya wasn't oblivious that the other children had targeted the new addition to the home and decided to mess with him, but it was behind him why the target had _willingly_ walked outside to be on the receiving end of the negative attention. Masochist? he thought before blinking, realising that the teenagers within the home had taught him some strange vocabulary. Seven-year-olds weren't supposed to know anything like that all. Kyouya itched his ears nervously as they were all staring at the smaller male; some were chuckling while elbowing their friend before muttering something under their breath, while others were clearly seizing him up. Should he be the one protecting the other? They were roommates, after all, but they hadn't uttered a word to each other.

"He doesn't say a word," one remarked in a tone of disbelief. The green-haired male was just staring ahead of him, not looking at anyone in particular, with an absent-minded expression. "Really, he doesn't."

"The older kids don't care at all," a girl said while stomping her foot. "He needs someone to teach him manners. My dad taught me manners." The last part was ruined when her voice cracked. Touchy subject, Kyouya thought.

"He won't reply." He wasn't moving, too. "And why is his hair green?"

Kyouya couldn't remember whether they had done the same to him, too. He had been too young to remember what had happened—too young to remember what his family looked like as well. He had no idea; all he knew was what it was like to live in the home, to not have anything to himself. What did the newcomer remember? He looked old enough to know what it had been like outside of where they were now, unless he had been transferred from somewhere else. Still, he saw no reason to help. Any more trouble and then he was going to face the _consequences_, or so they had said.

"He's just weird." They were right, without a doubt. No normal kid would keep their mouth shut and take any sort of abuse. At least, Kyouya wouldn't have. He had been in far too many fights already, so why would he risk it just to save someone he didn't know? "A complete freak. No wonder his parents didn't want him."

"His parents might be dead," another girl commented.

"Shut up," most of them snapped in unison. There was no sympathy allowed while they were looking for entertainment. The toys that were within their rooms were torn and tattered from the years of use.

"He don't speak." The tallest of the lot announced with an all knowing tone. Kyouya almost laughed in disbelief as he observed that the male was supposed to be their leaders of sorts; he could tell them exactly how he screamed when he'd been accidentally punched in the face before. "No one wants a kid that don't speak."

Maybe that was the brunet's life story, he, himself, had no idea whatsoever about it. And as he mused quietly to himself, it was the same moment as the first kid pushed the newcomer. He fell on the floor yet stood right back up while looking seemingly unaffected. They didn't care about whether or not is clothes were going to get torn and ruined, if anything they were aiming for the puddles and mud that were on the floor. He still made no noise as he was being pushed around, not even a groan of pain. The mud on his face, that was surely in his eyes, had to have hurt.

"Why isn't he crying?" the first girl, with long brown hair, asked. "I would be! He's a freak!"

"He don't speak and now he don't cry?" Kyouya was almost cringing from how bad the male was at speaking. If the newcomer sounded anything like the ring leader that was in front of him, he could understand why he wasn't speaking. "He will bleed."

It was going too far already. Had they forgotten that he was still in the tree? Usually, no fights happened while he was looking, but that day seemed like an exception. Just as he was about to jump down into the ground, he was surprised to see that the smaller male pushed himself up from the ground again, jumping back as soon as one of the others had moved to kick him. He avoided the kick before tripping one up without as much as a breath. The main male fell down before wiping the sweat off of him forehead, looking offended and then having the nerve to turn his nose up at his supposed victim, and walking off. The rest followed, surprisingly, without looking back over their shoulders. The green-haired male then surprised him. He groaned, loudly, before clutching his stomach and hunching over. It was only seconds before he vomited and Kyouya jumped down onto the ground. There was scarlet within the sick, and from seeing that—and let alone smelling it—he tore the sleeve off of his shirt and threw it at the other.

"Clean yourself up," he commanded before realising that he had said anything at all.

The smaller male looked up in surprise, having a expression that wasn't blank for once, with some liquid still dribbling down his chin. He grudgingly took the material, wiped his face and then threw it down into the puddle he had made. "Did I _ask _for your help?" If Kyouya hadn't been taken aback from the accent in the other's voice, and the fact that he was actually hearing him speak, he would've punched him.

-x-

One piece of homework. That was all he needed to do, but couldn't bring himself to do it at all. Kyouya sat stubbornly through the next week or so, scowling when Dino made eye contact with him. He knew what had happened, at least a basic idea, but he knew that he was going to feel better just from hearing Dino say it himself. Maybe because it seemed like he was pretending that it wasn't happening? Somehow through his pondering session, his eyes had ended up on Fran. The flashback wasn't particularly welcome at all. Maybe because their living arrangement seemed like when they had first met. They were both living together again—but thankfully not sharing a room again—and not uttering a word. Was there going to be a repeat of the past? Fran still had the habit of throwing up, even if his stomach was empty, and not eating enough if something had happened.

"That's what he's doing now, isn't it?" He was still pale and didn't like to receive help from others. Although the routines he had had disappeared over the years; such as going to the bathroom at the same time every day, and then wrapping the duvet around him. There was no set time one, he did it whenever he pleased and Kyouya didn't mention it at all. They all has small things that were comforting. "Idiot."

"No talking, Hibari." It always seemed to be during Dino's lessons when he started to think a lot and aloud, too. And the blonde always seemed to have a smug smile on his face whenever he could reprimand him within reason. Maybe because he was able to point out that he had the authority within the classroom. "I'll give you detention." He was definitely enjoying it.

-x-

"What's with the call?" Mukuro answered monotonously, yawning loudly a moment after.

"Master," Fran said with a matching tone; almost too matching, but at least it was still holding the sarcastic quality it always had, as well as hiding the accent he wanted to forget about. "I have nothing to report in." He was definitely close to adding 'roger' at the end of his sentence.

"Then don't bother me." Mukuro's annoyance was obvious, and the smaller male could just imagine his exasperated expression clearly. It was amusing, of course, to see his neutral expression, or even the smug one, to become smug. "I'm not paying you to bother me."

There was always a catch as to why they were talking. Fran would never have willingly started a conversation with the other. Naturally, it was fun to annoy the blue-haired male, one that had happened to be his ex-teacher at that very moment, but that didn't mean he could put up with him almost daily. There were money problem, of course, between him and Kyouya due to the fact the other had never had a stable job. Though, there were some points in the past while they were still within the home and Kyouya had been fired multiple times. When the reason wasn't that he was too young to be working, and the employer had only just found out that he had lied, it was his attitude. Fran wasn't much better when he had ventured out into the world and had attempted to earn money, too.

"Is that bet still going on, master?" he asked, bored. "It has been an awful long time. Has no one been man enough to win it?"

And that was why they were spending time together. Mukuro had been introduced as one of their teachers when he and Kyouya had first started high school, and also when they had moved into the town. They weren't aware of what they were getting into, apparently. Most of the teachers that taught in the rundown school, that only just passed when the inspectors come to observe, seemed too young to have been teaching. Most dressed younger than what they were, and also preferred to place bets rather than teach suitable information to their students. Meaning, when a new bet had been placed at the beginning of the year, Fran had somehow found itself involved within it and ending up with a handsome monthly salary that literally made no sense at all.

"Maybe there's not enough information for me to win yet." Mukuro's tone was strained as his voice became lower. Or it was just the static on the phone that had made it sound that way. "The money has gone higher, too. That means yours might go up if you're doing the right thing."

"Master, television taught me that stalking isn't the right thing to do."

"Don't listen to the television, you imbecile," Mukuro snapped before, Fran assumed, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "How has Dino been lately at teaching you? That guy has always been hopeless."

Fran's attention suddenly sky rocketed. "Another one of your minions?"

"Not quite." He laughed. "Just someone to drink with through the years."

-x-

Kyouya strolled through an aisle in a familiar store, shoving his hands into his pockets as he passed the refrigerated section. The cold air felt refreshing on his hot skin, and where he had appeared through the automatic doors with heavy breaths, he was still breathing irregularly. He didn't want trouble that day, for once, so he had attempted to walk as silently as he could before it had started to rain. Pushing the wet strands of his hair out of his face, he reached for one of the bottles of juice, only for his hand to collide with someone else's.

"You're wet."

The luck he was experiencing was beginning to aggravate him. His had been obscuring his vision, so when he'd peered to the side of him, he resisted the urge to groan. He could escape Fran, but there was always another problem waiting for him. And at that moment it was Dino's surprised face.

He reached forward and took the drink they had both been aiming for. "Yes," he said as though he was talking to a child. "It's raining."

Dino looked at him strangely. "You don't have an umbrella?" he asked, letting his eyes travel across the younger male's body as if inspecting him from head to toe. "That's pretty hard to believe."

Just to prove that he was right and that Dino was rather odd for thinking that everyone carried around an umbrella with them, he shrugged his hands out, so they were clearly in view. "Where exactly would I stash an umbrella?" All that was within his pockets were his phone and then wallet, just enough to get him through the night until he arrived home again. Why was he attempting to start a conversation, too? It was odd that they were both in casual clothes and not realising that it didn't look unnatural to be acquainted.

Dino, mockingly, placed his finger on his chin and hummed in thought. "You could have stashed them anywhere, Kyouya," he proclaimed, "nothing surprises me with you."

The brunet didn't know whether to take Dino's answer as a insult or not. Was he that unpredictable when he felt that his emotions skyrocketed around hm? Maybe, it was just because he didn't know something and was itching to know the piece of information. "I'd prefer it if you'd disappear from my sight now." He reached for another bottle of juice, noticing that the other had retracted his hands and was simply standing beside him.

"I'm not doing anything wrong right now." While they were outside of school it didn't look suspicious, he thought. "I just want to talk to you for awhile."

"Now is not the time or place," Kyouya said testily. He didn't feel comfortable around him, still, but that didn't mean that he was going turn his head and walk away. It seemed as though he was the adult in the situation, even if he was, and looked, considerably younger. How old had Dino said he was when he introduced himself?

"Twenty-three," Dino answered with a smile. Kyouya blinked with a miffed expression before realising that he had voiced his thought aloud, feeling his ears burning for the moment of embarrassment. "The age different isn't that large between us, you know. Six years; some do date with that between them."

He didn't know what to make of the reply. "Are you announcing that it's okay to be a pedophile?"

"No." Dino's smile became tight, strained. "If it's consensual, that's a completely different story. And, might I add, you are most certainly legal." It wasn't the conversation that they were supposed to be having, quite loudly, in the middle of a convenience store. A shiver ran down Kyouya's spine as he looked at the taller male through is wet bangs. Now that it seemed to be the moment he was waiting for—the moment Dino was finally going to say what he had been waiting to hear—he'd stiffened. "You're pale."

He flinched when Dino touched his cheek to check his temperature, taking an awkward step back before shaking is head. "Don't change the subject," he commanded, "carry on."

"I don't take commands to my students." The blonde grinned, that time the smile reaching his eyes in good humour.

"I'm not your student when and where you please," Kyouya ground out, stubbornly gripping the bottle in one of his hands too tightly. Dino noticed, though, and raised one of his eyebrows.

"If you call me by my first name, as I do with you, then maybe I won't."

Not if he wasn't going to be answering his questions. "Will you answer my questions here?" Kyouya knew, without a doubt, that Dino was going to say no. He took another step away from the other, in the direction of the check out area, only to be surprised as Dino took a step towards him.

"Maybe if I see you here again," he said. Kyouya looked at him oddly in return. "Here," Dino murmured, reaching into the small that he was carrying and withdrawing a small black umbrella. "Take this." He shoved it into the smaller male's hand, grinning, before walking off in the other direction.

When Kyouya had paid for his items, walked outside and found that it was still raining, he remembered that Dino lived further away than he did. "What an idiot."

**AN: **All right! This was typed over a week or so on my train journeys, so that should explain why it seems to be all over the place, haha. Late update because a lot of things have been happening in real life lately and if I type... my kitten, Tai, always attacks my hands. He's distracted with the cursor on the screen right now. :D

Life aside for now, I hope this chapter seems important compared to the no plot in chapter three? Dino and Kyouya scenes, along with Mukuro and Fran, even though they _won't _end up together. It's just for the plot, I swear. I'm stopping the voting as it seems Dino's won by lots.

Final results:

Dino: 50 / Fran: 18!


	6. Hello, Past Self

**Yachiru443: **Haha, thank you! Well done for being first. :) Though it's not that hard any more. *sobs* **nightingale mistress: **Haru and Lussuria were destined to be best friends. Seriously. ;A; Haha, you've almost guessed it for Dino and Mukuro! Thank you!

_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明 _

Chapter six—Hello, Past Self  
><em>The whole world is shrouded in hellish darkness.<em>

He was falling in deeper and deeper. It wasn't his intention at first; usually, he would have thought through what was going on before deciding what to do. Yet Dino found himself not thinking properly, probably because of some of them ages that continued to pop into his mind. Really, his mind was spiralling into a disaster. He had intended to forget about it, just as Kyouya had pretended he had done, but it didn't seem to work. Seeing the smaller male within the classroom whenever he was teaching was enough to trigger a reaction, always, and sometimes they weren't pleasant for standing in front of the class with. Sometimes when he'd retreated behind the desk before he had is mind in the right place, he would notice a few things.

The girl at the back of the class was always tapping away at her phone. The sport obsessed male, who happened to be right under his nose, liked to practice his punches when he thought Dino wasn't looking. Another girl looked to twirl her hair in her hand, staring out of the window. The green-haired friend of Kyouya, who he had to address as Fran alone, as he couldn't pronounce the last name provided, was increasingly emotionless and paler each day. And last but not least, as each day went on Kyouya was becoming more and more obvious that he was staring at him. As much as Dino had wanted to tease him for it, he thought better, not sure whether it would have been appropriate if anyone could hear.

He wanted to hate himself for his curiosity. It was supposed to be a one night stand with a stranger, maybe even a two not if he had managed to get his phone number, yet he had to put all his effort into teaching the other, instead of engaging in any other activity. Was he just pushing the lack of romance in his life onto the younger male? He only knew a few from the own, and yet he was only curious about the brunet. Intriguing, he was, and his reactions were always unpredictable. Only when they were alone in the classroom, or outside of school, was when Kyouya let down his guard and so did Dino, too. Not having to worry about being too close, too familiar was refreshing.

And yet it was bitter sweet. He was setting himself up for a failure, yet why was he _anticipating_ it?

"Because failing is my best quality," Dino answered himself out loud. He took a long swig of his drink to wash down the bitter feeling. "We'll see, we'll see."

"Talking to yourself?" The male opposite him raised his eyebrow. "That's not a good trait to have, you know. You're never going to attract anyone with it."

"I'll do far better than with your attitude," Dino replied rudely. Oh, how much he wanted to strangle Mukuro at that moment. And then at the same time he wanted to thank him for messing up his life. It certainly made it interesting, after all. If Mukuro had bothered to actually turn up that night, which seemed all so long ago, he wouldn't have met Kyouya. But still, he could hold a grudge. The reason for him not bothering to turn up wasn't even that good, he had simply forgotten. "I really want to punch you right now."

Mukuro laughed openly, throwing his head back and making the long strands of hair sway. "Pray tell, why is that?"

It's your fault I can be considered a pedophile now, he thought. "I just dislike you for only coming out when it's convenient. You say you're coming, then you damn well stand me up!"

"Not my fault you needed to get laid." He laughed again. Almost instantly the blonde flushed, the blush completely covering his face, as he wanted the other to expand on his comment. Sex was always an awkward topic between them, mostly because of the comments that Mukuro tended to come out with. "And from I've heard from a little bird, you did get someone."

"Why, yes, I did." He ground his teeth. "He turned out to be a kid, though. All thanks to you, I had sex with a _kid_."

"Great." He smirked. "Let me guess, you popped his cherry? I know that you don't... well, go on the bottom. That's why we never worked out."

"There was never a 'we', Mukuro, you just decided to hit on me in college. Joke was on you, though, I vomited when you tried to kiss me." Dino snickered, remembering the moment when Mukuro looked pale from seeing the vomit on his shoes. Dino had never been interested in the other; mostly because he wasn't his type, and he was damn annoying, too. "And I think I did. No, I know I did." He flushed in shame, trying to resist buying another round of drinks to forget about it. "And do you know what makes it even worse? He's my student now. He was _your _student."

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrow, curiously. "Which one is it? I can give you all the dirty information, if you want it. Them brats didn't keep anything a secret, not even their sex life." Mukuro shook his head in shame for them, even though he was being a hypocrite, Dino stared at him incredulously, unsure whether he was being sarcastic or not. Mukuro had never, in his life, kept his antics in bed or any other location a secret. "Tell me already."

Dino didn't think about it properly, once again thinking with nothing rather than his brain. "Kyouya," he said, clearing his throat afterwards. "Kyouya Hibari."

To his surprise, Mukuro burst out laughing. The laugh was more awkward sounding that time, as though it was forced more then before. He stared, just blankly, as he waited for the noise to quiet down. The bartender shot them a dirty look from being too loud, and Dino was more than relieved that it wasn't the one from when he'd met Kyouya. "Oh, I do know that brat." Mukuro smirked, almost sinisterly, as he stared at the ceiling above them whilst leaning back on his elbows. "Rather than favourite, you could say he was my toy."

When his anger flared, Dino decided that it was his imagination. "Oh?" He said, the smile in his face strained. "Why is that?"

"Fun to toy with, that one," Mukuro said, amused. "For that bet all the teachers take part in, I took his name out of the hat. Making him attached to me sounded far easier than it actually was."

"Bet?" Dino blinked. He hadn't heard of anything of the sort, but that might of been because he hadn't spent much of his time with the other teachers. He could barely remember some if their names, apart from some of the males that were slightly appealing. "Why would you participate in something like that?"

"Every month there's not a winner, the amount of money gets doubled. Imagine that by a year, Dino, and then you'd see why I want to win that, still."

"It's going on still?" He felt sick, but felt it back with a grimace. Was that why Kyouya kept shutting himself off and refusing any help from the teachers? Did he know about the bet and assumed that Dino was in on it, too? He had had no clue, but maybe it hadn't appeared it that way. Oh God, Dino thought, I probably seemed like a complete ass. "You haven't touched him, have you?"

"Are you afraid that you had my sloppy seconds?" He chortled as Dino surprised himself again with a surge of anger. "No, I had never got quite that far. It was much better to lure his best friend in, and to watch as Kyouya got angrier by the day." Best friend, Dino thought. The only other person that he saw Kyouya talking to had been Fran, but that was in the past. The two of them were not talking any more, and the blonde had to wonder whether it was his fault or not. It surely was.

"Did you do anything to him, anything that wasn't sexual?"

From the knowing smirk and the way that he had looked him up and down, Dino felt anxious. He was being too obvious about his interest, but there was no reason to hide it at that point, he'd already told the other male about what had happened. Sighing, he downed the rest of his alcohol. "Sabotage," Mukuro said simply, as though he had said the sky was blue. "The more time he spent with me, I assumed he would like me more." It didn't take long for Dino to put the facts together.

"His grades," he said, staring the the empty bottle in front of him. "You're the reason for his poor grades?" From attempting to look through Kyouya's personal record, that happened to contain all of the wrong things he had done along with his grades, he hadn't had enough time to look through it all.

"Oh, yes." Mukuro grinned proudly of himself, the glint in his eyes smug, too. "If you haven't noticed already, Kyouya was the top student when he first joined." Dino blinked, he certainly hadn't got that far into it. None of the other teachers that he'd briefly spoken to hadn't mentioned it as well. "He refused to do the opening speech, though, so that was a disaster."

"What the _Hell_ did you do to him?" His anger flared once again, and he accepted it that time. It made sense, he was acting as a teacher. Maybe the source of the poor grades hadn't been him, rather the male opposite him. "Why?"

"I told you sabotage." Mukuro pushed himself up from the seat and disappeared off for a moment, reappearing a few minutes after with two more beers. Dino accepted it without question. "I purposely failed his tests, gave him detention, but can you guess what happened?"

There was only one thing missing. "Kyouya started skipping." It wasn't a question.

-x-

"I know you're not an idiot," Dino announced, just as Kyouya was packing his things away into his bag. There was only one other student in the room, so the blonde decided to take his chances. Just to make sure, he looked over his shoulder one more time. "Kyouya, why are you purposely failing?"

The brunet's eyebrow visibly twitched. "Don't pretend that you know what's going on," he said, standing up in anger. "You do not _know_me." I know your body well enough, Dino thought before gulping. He chastised himself to keep his thoughts clean, clear and somewhat innocent. "Move out of my way."

"You were the top student." The taller male placed his hand on the desk, blocking the other's way out. Kyouya could have backed away and walked around, and yet he stared stubbornly at him and refused to move. "Why aren't you now? You're barely achieving a passing grade now, you can't fall that far just by not studying." He wanted to hear it from Kyouya himself, rather than believing all of the information he had been told. Mukuro couldn't always be trusted, especially since he said he was taking a break from being a teacher as he'd convinced the headmaster that his wife was having a baby. It should have been obvious that the male was gay and lying, but with his creepy aura, that might have been why they had agreed. Dino was only taking over for a matter of time, or until he was given a permanent position.

"I realised I didn't care." He clenched his fists by his sides, visibly shaking in anger, as he looked down at the ground rather than directly into his eyes. "No matter how much I know, or how much I study, I'll never obtain what I want," he elaborated, voice deeper than Dino had heard it before. If he wasn't imagining it, he sounded hoarse as well. "So what's the point?" He finally looked up at Dino through narrowed eyes. "Can _you_tell me why I should bother?"

"To get an education, a real one," he said carefully, unsure what was an unstable subject or not. "You won't get anywhere in the world by failing. You want to make... someone proud, don't you?"

The blonde watched as Kyouya's expression became almost twisted, one of the worst that he had seen to that day. "Proud?" he questioned, and Dino realised that he had, indeed, stepped on a land mine of a subject. He wanted to take a step back and redo the conversation, but he couldn't. As bad as it was, his interest only increased from the brunet's reactions. "I have no one to make proud."

"I'd be proud of you," he blurted before flushing. Dino had meant to think it, not say it aloud and cause Kyouya to blink in surprise before averting is eyes again. The awkward atmosphere around them only became more apparent as Dino awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "If any of my students succeed, I'd be proud. If the ones that fail put in all of their effort, I'd be proud of them, too." He had though he'd gotten away with it, and yet as he saw Kyouya scowl, Dino wanted to take back his excuse and face the embarrassment instead. "I'm not allowed to give you any special treatment."

"You seem to," he pointed out grimly. "Just leave me alone."

"No," Dino vowed, serious enough to make a idea form in his head. "Whether you like it or not I'll be pestering you until I leave here."

Any type of expression Kyouya had had on his face melted away, leaving only a blank look. "It's only a limited amount of time, then," he said just as blankly, "so why can't you accept that you can't change me?"

"I don't have an ulterior motive," Dino said, trying to convince himself more than the other. Although it wasn't for the same reasons that Mukuro had constantly annoyed the brunet, they certainly weren't innocent. He closed his eyes to take in a deep breath, ridding the thoughts from his mind. They were wrong; even if he was falling n deeper, he could still get out of it, couldn't he? "I just don't want to see you fail and do nothing with your life."

"I'll be fine without you," he snapped defensively, the serious glint in is eyes blazing as he bared his teeth at the older male. "I don't need anyone, especially not you." Before Dino could respond properly, rather than splutter for words, he was shoved out of the way so Kyouya could stride past. If there was any chance of their relationship being more positive than before from meeting at the convenience store, all hope was lost from the small, not so peppy, pep talk. Dino sighed, shaking his head and proclaimed that he was an absolute idiot.

-x-

"Hey," Kyouya said awkwardly—quiet enough that he could only be heard over the breeze slightly—while perched upon a hilltop. It wasn't where he had particularly wanted to be, but it was his best shot. He hadn't done such a thing in years, so why was he there now? It was the highest spot in Namimori, yet it wasn't close enough for him. The brunet climbed the tree beside him efficiently, looking at the few stars that illuminated the night sky through the leaves. "You can hear me, can't you?"

His confidence deteriorated as he shivered from the answering breeze. He didn't know why he had ventured out at that time of night, or why he had even pondered about what Dino had been trying to say. It was just a repeat, wasn't it? He wasn't the same naive teenager he had been back in the beginning of high school, he knew better. He knew who to trust and when to as well.

"What am I doing?" He moaned, running his fingers through the strands of his hair. No matter how much he had worked over the years, there was no goal in the end. One of his first memories was within the orphanage; they'd told him that if he was good enough, his parents would come back within no time. As foolish as he was at the young age, of what he couldn't remember, he had believed them without question. It had only taken a few months for his memory to blur and for questions to arise. What did his parents look like? He had no idea. Their names were unknown, too. "Pointless."

Fran was exactly the same, and yet they had never spoken about their families. Fran surely had a better memory since he was older when he'd first arrived.

"You might not even be up there," he mumbled. If they were, would they be proud of what he'd become—a violent disaster? As Dino's sentence from the day before popped into his mind again, saying that he would be proud of him, Kyouya rubbed his hand over his face. It was the cold that had made his face burn, surely.

-x-

Crossing his arms over his chest, Dino furrowed his brow as he walked through the hallway. He was working up the courage, in his own weird way, to walk into the teacher's lounge and introduce himself properly. He was still unsure about their names, much less what their subjects were. He just needed to keep focused, really, and find out which of them taught maths and science. He massaged his temple while walking, unconsciously closing his eyes.

"Eh?" Dino spluttered as he fell forward, instincts kicking in as his hands reached out to catch his fall. He had assumed that he'd fallen over his own feet but that was until he felt the awkward feeling of someone pressed into him. He looked down, as he was on all fours on the floor, to see a woman below him.

"You ass!" she shrieked, far too loud for his eardrums to handle. As he received a slap on his shoulder, one that was rather hard and aggressive, he quickly jumped up before offering his hand to the mysterious woman. She took in without question, and he took that moment to look her over. The woman had orange hair, that looked unnaturally bright and glossy, along with eyebrows and eyelashes. Her irides, that were almost hidden from the bold make-up around her eyes, matched them, too. She was definitely a teacher from her attire; the form fitting black pencil skirt and shirt wouldn't have been part of the uniform. As her bangs were swept to the side, and some of her chin-length hair was pushed behind her left ear, he could clearly see the large earring that was unmissable. "I'm not going to thank you. You're the one that knocked into me."

Dino laughed nervously, avoiding her pointed gaze and glancing down to see that she had a pair of high stilettos on. Were they even suitable for school? he wondered. "Yeah." He laughed nervously. "Sorry about that." She had dropped some papers on the floor without realising it. To inspect them, he lifted them from the floor before a visible glint in his eye appeared. "Science, eh?"

The chance was too good to miss. "Yes," she said, snatching the papers back and sorting them into a pile. "I should be asking who you are, though. That's not the school uniform."

He tried to ignore the look she had given him while looking from head to toe. "Hi," he said, awkwardly placing his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Dino, the new English teacher. Well not so new any more."

There was no mistaking the look she'd given him. "M.M., the science teacher."

He needed to change where his interest was going, so what was the harm in trying something new? "Nice to meet you." He grinned. After all, it was going to be good for Kyouya in the end.

-x-

Yawning lightly into his hand, Kyouya walked out of his room, only sparing a small glance to the other male that was settled down in their living room. Fran was reading a book without any expression, just a glass of water on the table in front of him, as he seemed to be trying to stay awake. He had opened his mouth to talk to him, but thought better of it. The brunet, who had paused in the hallway, took a set back so he could peer at him. Fran was appearing to be nervous around him again. Why had he suddenly reverting back to it? Although there were times they had disagreements, they had never been to this sort of level. Fran had been slightly more mature, but it could have been a ploy for attention, he thought. Then as he looked at the smaller male once over again, he scolded itself for such thoughts. Of course they all had ploys for attention, it was only natural. And at that point in time, Fran was the one that wanted it more than him. Clearing his throat loudly, he saw Fran reach quickly to turn the page of is book. It was too quick for him to do that, he had just wanted to point out that he was busy.

"Fran," he called, "I know what you're doing."

"_Senpai_," the other drawled lowly, "stop imagining things."

His eye twitched slightly. Fran never liked being confronted by his problems, or even having people help him out. As much as the smaller male wanted to be independent, he would never truly be. He did rely on others without realising it, especially when his memories kicked in. "Come with me." Kyouya thought he looked like a worried parent, who was quick to start abusing their child, as he pulled Fran up by his left wrist and forcefully dragged him out of their apartment. As they walked, with Fran lagging behind but not attempting to break free, he didn't let go of his grip and continued to march on as if it was completely natural. Even though they weren't dressed for that time of day, so they shivered, Kyouya stayed firm with his decision of taking him away from where they lived. Ten minutes later, as they stared at the door in front of them, Kyouya finally let go of Fran's wrist. His hand felt cold as soon as it was down by his side.

The one who answered the door was unexpected. Lussuria swung the door open and gasped loudly when he saw that they were standing there. "Oh!" he exclaimed, opening the door wider in an attempt to usher them inside. Lussuria was still wearing his sunglasses, even though it was night time and he was inside his home. When his attempt to let them in didn't work, he laughed softly while saying, "Don't be shy now. Come in, come in."

Both Fran and Kyouya looked at each other, as if trying to decide whether to step inside or not, before choosing that it was better than standing out in the hallway, awkwardly.

"Fran, my boy," he gushed, just after he'd shut the door behind them. "It's been awhile since I've seen you. You're looking thinner, but not healthy thin. Not diet thin." Kyouya's plan hadn't been to shove the green-haired male onto Lussuria, but it seemed to work at that moment. The only sign that Fran was uncomfortable was when the older male put his hands on his face, brushing the green strands of his bangs back to see whether he was I'll or not. Fran's lips had twitched ever so slightly, proving that he didn't like the attention. They both weren't used to it. "Well you're not unwell."

"Oh." Fran blinked. "I would have never have guessed." His sarcastic comment wasn't taken notice of, though, as Lussuria whisked him off to the kitchen almost immediately. Kyouya walked into the apartment slowly, looking around just to see where Haru was. As he looked through all of the rooms, he soon noticed that there was no one else there apart from the three of them. He had originally wanted to show to Haru that they were being civil, enough to manhandle the smaller male to push him to get better. Walking to the kitchen, he leaned against the wall as soon as he was there with his arms crossed over his chest, watching as Lussuria was passing the other an array of pans and pots.

"Oh, by the way, Kyouya," Lussuria said loudly to get his attention, "Haru and Viper are out on a date right now!"

He could have guessed that for himself. He still didn't approve of their relationship, but that didn't mean that he could say anything against it. Until Viper caused her to be unhappy, Kyouya was going to keep quiet. It was enough to see she wasn't smoking or causing trouble any more, yet he still was instead. Apart from the smoking, though, that made him feel sick. "Okay," he replied for the sake of it.

It was quite hilarious to see Fran make a mess of someone else's kitchen apart form theirs. He hadn't seen it before, since he had always been busy trying to salvage the mess and food they'd made together, yet as he watched Lussuria and Fran attempt to cook together, the corner of his lip curled upwards. As soon as Lussuria reached for a spoon and started stirring whatever they were making, Fran would attempt to cut some sort of ingredient and cause for a mess to be made everywhere. "Fran!" he exclaimed loudly. "I asked you to cut, not hack!"

"I did just what you asked," he whined, placing the knife on the cutting board in defeat.

"You most certainly did not," the older male defended, taking over and cutting the vegetables instead. "Why don't you sit down and wait?"

Fran remained unmoving. "Are you planning to eat me?"

Lussuria threw his head back to laugh, almost cutting his finger off in the process. "Shoot," he complained as Kyouya moved forward and took over his place. He stirred whatever was in the pan without saying a thing, yet he heard Fran mumble something under his breath. "Give us ten minutes, Fran. Then I'll force you to eat this." Though his tone was positive, the threat was still present.

"I'm going to pee," he announced.

As soon as Fran had disappeared and he was left alone with Lussuria, the older male announced, "I've finally got you alone, then. I was hoping you'd come soon while Haru was gone." Kyouya was suddenly cautious, glancing out the the corner of his eye to see whether he was safe or not. He didn't know what to say to him, so when Lussuria stopped cutting and put down the knives, he was even more cautious. "I know this is a little late, but it's better than never."

"What?" he asked as Lussuria was searching through his pocket. He didn't seem to be in danger, and as he saw that then older male had something clenched in his hand, he stared at the clenched fist. "I'm not taking candy from you."

"This is most certainly not candy," Lussuria said happily, placing whatever was in his hand into Kyouya's. He kept his hand in Kyouya's for a moment before pulling away, adjusting his sunglasses and announced, "I didn't know whether you were being safe or not, and I felt like Haru would have wanted me to look after you for her."

He turned his hand around to glance at what had been passed to him. Condoms, three of them. "You—"

"Did you forget I'm the bartender there?" Kyouya had no idea what to think. His memory was still fuzzy, but he did recall that his job was somewhere in a bar. Is that where he had landed up, sitting within a bar right in front of Lussuria's eyes? "I saw you leave with that blonde man that had been buying you drinks, so I was worried."

Dino, wasn't it? So that was why he was asked whether he had been drunk or not. "...Does Haru know?"

"No." He breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't think the first thing she wanted to hear when she'd only just arrived was that her little brother had slept with an older man."

Kyouya felt his face heat up from the awkward subject. "I didn't sleep with him," he lied, knowing full well that he had, "I wouldn't do that."

Lussuria went back to cutting again, although the ingredients were unneeded at that point. "Whatever you say, Kyouya," he said, humouring him, "just remember to be safe."

When Fran came strolling back into the room just at that moment, Kyouya stuffed them into his pocket without a moment of thought. The night was awkward as they were together, still not making enough conversation, but catching each other looking at the other at various moments. As much as the brunet wanted to make conversation, he wasn't sure how to bring it up, especially when they were still under Lussuria's eyes. After an hour or two, and Haru still hadn't come back, they excused themselves without so much of a thank you. Lussuria seemed not to mind, though, happily showing them out to the door.

Outside within the cold again, they were quiet as they walked along the street. Unsure of what the time was, Kyouya pulled out his phone to inspect and noticed Fran was staring at him, as if waiting for him to start the conversation first. After clearing his throat, he asked, "Since when were you the one to stay quiet?"

"Eh?" Fran drawled, turning his head to face forward as they walked. He assumed that it was so they weren't feeling as awkward as they could have; after all, they never apologised for whatever happened between them through the years. "Since you've become one to seek help from others, _Senpai_."

"Maybe you should do it sometime." He ignored the insult as well as he could; of course Fran was going to see it in another light than he was. "It might make you less of a depressed looking child."

"Jealous of my youthful looks now, are you?" Kyouya scoffed in response, not surprised when he was lightly jabbed in the ribs. "Not everyone has the face of someone twice their age, you should feel blessed."

The brunet pushed him away without a thought. "I don't look like I'm in my thirties," he defended himself. "And with your looks, no one will ever take you seriously." Whether he was being serious or not was unknown to him, but teasing the smaller male was always a good pastime.

"At least I don't look like a pedophile," Fran replied bluntly, side stepping as he thought that he was going to get hit. He blinked in mild surprise as he was left alone. "_Senpai_?"

"I hate you, Fran," Kyouya said firmly.

It didn't surprise him as Fran whistled in appreciation of the dislike. "The feeling is mutual."

Their relationship couldn't last forever, could it? It was full of taunts, dislike and mutual feelings that certainly weren't positive. It was just because they had been accustomed to each other, eventually, by the time they were old enough to realise they couldn't deal with being neglected forever. Yet at that point in time, Kyouya was receiving attention from someone else, wasn't he? It seemed unfair that Fran wasn't, too.

"Fran," he said slowly, thinking about how to word his question correctly. "Who would you say you're closest to?" It was obvious that he meant apart from himself.

Fran took his time to hum aloud, his footsteps significantly louder than they were before as he walked. "No one in particular," he answered, "I don't see the point."

"I won't put up with you forever."

**AN: **I was gonna make Fran and Kyouya kiss at the end, but then I gave up and decided that was it for this chapter. I want to thank whoever's still reading this, though, and I'm sorry for the obvious flaws in the plot. This was supposed to be a one-shot finishing after chapter one, so everything is either made up or just little notes I've plotted down.


	7. The Best Qualities

**Stranger: **The best kind of teacher, eh? More D18 for you, yes! **Traum-Alptraum: **You don't approve of any Kyouya/Fran loving? :( Haha! Never mind, eh? It's all good now that it's decided that Dino's going to be the main. **nightingale mistress: **Y-you can see the future? Tell me, my dear, I want to know everything! I can never see Kyouya being a character that's dumb for some reason. He's probably just a jerk that pretends to be or just ditches. **Anon: **I don't read the manga, sorry! Amano totally stole the idea from me, though. ;) I had him as a English cover teacher first. **NightIcanSay: **I hope you're better now! Thank you for everything. :D **The Red Undertaker: **I didn't, haha! :D I'm just amazing. Thank you!

_家庭教師ヒットマン _REBORN! © _天野明 _

Chapter seven—The Best Qualities  
><em>Unable to call out your name, I suddenly became quiet. <em>

To an outsider it would have seemed as though their relationship was back to normal. The two were sat next to each other again, chairs not angled away; rather, they were angled towards each other, and there were rude comments being tossed between the two of them. To a trained eye, though, it appeared completely different. There was strain between them—the comments were going too far at some points, and it was obvious that one of them was going to blow up.

"I get the feeling you're taking me for granted," Fran murmured, glancing away from his school bag that was thrown carelessly onto the table they were sharing. "This," he announced, gesturing to himself, "isn't something that comes along very often."

Kyouya smirked. "Go on a street corner and say that, then."

"You're the whore in this relationship."

The taller of the two blinked, repeating the accusation in his head to make sure that he'd heard it correctly. Instead of focusing on the implication at the end of the sentence, he latched onto the first. "Whore?" Kyouya repeated through clenched teeth. "How on _Earth _could I be labelled that?"

"Well, you obviously get around." There was a glint of amusement within his irides. "You're going between me and whoever you've got as a piece on the side."

He chose to address the last bit of the sentence, and only that. "There's no one." And there wasn't. His mind had been too full of thoughts, too many to filter through without not being able to control his expressions. He had been locked up in his bedroom, doing anything but addressing the problem. It wasn't a surprise that Fran had noticed, and since he didn't have the decency to be subtle at all, he chose the middle of class to talk.

Fran, for once, decided to be more perceptive. "Is this because of the bet, _Senpai_?" He'd hit the nail on the head without trying.

"Bet? That's all in the past, Fran." He was lying through clenched teeth, still. The source of his inner turmoil was at the front of the class, running his hands through his hair in frustration whilst holding a textbook. "We don't live in the past."

As soon as the words were out, Kyouya bit down onto the inside of his cheek in regret. They didn't have a choice about whether they wanted to live in the past, and he'd thrown it into his companion's face.

"I meant for you to experience the big bad world," Fran announced, leaning back in his chair and almost falling backwards, "not to make friends."

The corner of his lips tugged up as he could guess Fran's next words.

"Stranger danger."

Sometimes Kyouya could still see the same little kid that had appeared in his bedroom in the idiot beside him. He preferred the old version of Fran without a doubt. The green-haired male beside him had far too much spunk, and that wasn't always welcomed in their conversations. Possibly, Fran could have been thinking the exact same thing about him.

"I don't remember them." Kyouya kept his eyes focused on Dino, who, thankfully, was busy picking up some papers that he'd dropped. "I did complete the bet, though. Lussuria can tell you that."

"You spent the night with _Lussuria_?"

Kyouya winced at how loud the other was being. If it wasn't bad enough that some of the class now had their attention on the two of them, Dino chose to look, too, and ended up meeting his gaze. The brunet counted until only two in his head before looking away, narrowing his eyes at Fran instead. A tell-tale sign that he wasn't impressed with his behaviour.

"He was _working_ where I went," he hissed.

"Oh." Fran dramatically blinked, clapping his hands together for a moment as he finally put the facts together. "You got drunk without me?"

He sneered. "If you were there, the drinks wouldn't have been free."

"That transvestite is such a con man," the smaller male mumbled sourly. "He bloody worships the ground you walk on, all because of your damn sister."

If jealousy was reflected in hair colour, it certainly was for Fran's. "Maybe you should be nicer."

"I don't want to hear that from you, hypocrite." Fran stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest, raising his eyebrows as they looked at each other oddly. His raised eyebrows were a challenge, for an appropriate retort to come his way. When nothing came, however, he frowned. "You're awful to everyone. It's no wonder you have no friends."

Kyouya blinked before turning his attention elsewhere. From the corner of his eye, he glanced towards the clumsy blonde at the front of the room. "Why would I need friends? People are annoying." Certainly, he thought, they are. Some more so than others.

"Well, I'm annoying and I'm here," Fran replied monotonously, "any reason for that?"

"You're practically attached to my side." He rolled his eyes, glad for the change of subject.

The green-haired male pursed his lips, just staring ahead of him for a few moments. "And why do you think that is?"

He didn't have to think about an answer. The word left his mouth not even a second later, and it shocked even him. "Habit."

"Hibari." They were jerked out of their bubble from Dino's voice, and Kyouya slowly turned his head to the side to see why he was being called upon. "I need to see you after class."

The brunet took in a sharp breath and refused to look away. Was it a challenge between them, to see who'd give up first? They wanted to pry information from each other, Kyouya had decided, and they were in completely different categories. They continued to stare, and Dino's eyes weren't giving any information away.

He stayed until each and every student had waltzed out of the room at their own pace, each dragging their feet across the floor as they started to wander home. How lucky, he thought. Finally, he was starting to appreciate how great it was that they had English as their last lesson, almost always. Dino was still sat down at his desk, taking his time as he penned something down on each page of paper before setting it aside. Kyouya stayed within his seat, arms crossed, as impatience was getting the better of him. Not that he would show it, though.

When Dino finally looked up and caught his eyes, Kyouya let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Kyouya," Dino said in an even voice, his eyes darting to the classroom door to see if they were alone. "If I've offended you in any way, I apologise."

His voice had dropped lower, more hushed.

"If I've given you the wrong impression, too..."

He cut him off as soon as he remembered how to speak. "It's fine," Kyouya hissed, hating how his voice sounded. "I won't search for unnecessary answers now."

"I don't want you to misunderstand." Dino licked his lips nervously. "What I mean is—"

"I understand perfectly," he told him, before Dino could continue, because he did. The evidence was all over the blonde's face, unmissable. "Lies are not what I want to hear."

"Lies?" Dino started to say, pausing as he saw that the smaller male had pushed himself away from his desk. "Kyouya, I—"

"Don't bother, herbivore," Kyouya interrupted him, again. He kept his gaze steady on the door as he walked away.

-x-

Despite having been in Namimori for just over a month, Dino wasn't used to the constant silence.

Whenever he walked through what should have been a boisterous shopping centre, he instead had to strain his ears to make out some of the conversations. There were no wailing police sirens or any car alarms—a quiet silence, one that belonged in the smallest of towns. Slowly, as he frequented a certain coffee shop he began to realise that the four costumers that were usually before him was what the rest of the town considered a long queue. There was no waiting forever, but he didn't take much comfort in that.

As much as he'd wanted to blame the silence for his lack of sleep the night before, he couldn't. With a coffee cup gripped tightly in his hand he trudged his way into the staff room, settling down on the nearest chair and proceeding to rub his eyes with the palms of his hands. There was no missing how exhausted he looked, or the light purple of his skin. A few more teachers, all who looked equally stressed, poured into the room soon after with a refreshed looking M.M. following after, looking much like she was herding them.

She greeted him with a firm nod before reaching for a book to read.

The only upside of being restless for a period of time the night before meant that he could think, thoroughly. And after having alcohol to allow them to flow quicker, honestly, he'd found that he could think clearer than he'd expected. Dino even thought that he was thinking more rationally, too, since all the cards were out on the table.

He'd met Kyouya outside of the school site before he'd officially been introduced to the school, therefore there was no concern needed. It happened all the time, he was sure. The conversation they had had was in a more than friendly manner; rather, it was simply the talking that _wasn't _inappropriate.

It was the thoughts of how the other looked across the room, or when he simply kept quiet and frowned, that were classed as inappropriate.

Dino shook his head. His reaction to first seeing the younger male was normal, especially since he hadn't known he was a student. Appreciating someone's looks from across the room, pursuing them and then sharing a bed was normal.

It was inappropriate for him to still consider the younger male attractive, though.

Kyouya had decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to act as though it had never happened. His reactions hadn't been covered up completely, but no words had slipped through his mouth for the first few days. And so, Dino had decided to give him the same treatment.

He was going to stick to the story he'd concocted in his head. He was simply waiting for Kyouya to sober up; because, clearly, that explained why their bare limbs were tangled together in bed.

Although it was difficult at some points, Dino made it through most of the day. He laughed at some of the ridiculous jokes that were said by his fellow teachers, even cracking a few of his own and appreciating how friendly the others seemed to be, and downed a fair amount of coffee to keep going. When he saw what class was on his schedule for the next lesson, he straightened his tie and tried to confidently walk into the room.

He stubbed his toe on the door frame. "_Fuck_," he cursed in English.

A few of the class snickered, and he made sure to call upon them for the answers. Their smirks were wiped off their faces when they were wrong.

As much as Dino wanted to keep a professional attitude, it was becoming clear that he couldn't keep his wits about him. The lesson proved that, clearly.

Kyouya was back in his original seat again, seated beside his green-haired friend.

He felt awkward whenever their eyes met, and it just seemed to keep happening. Dino quickly concluded that he wouldn't be able to teach properly, professionally, if the younger male continued to stare at him like he had been for that period. But how could he approach the matter without sounding inappropriate? He could only imagine the sorts of ideas that would go through the rest of the students' minds.

Each time he looked Kyouya's way, he was looking at him with an unreadable expression. There was only a slight curve of his lips to give away his mood.

Dino found himself wondering what he was thinking, wondering what exactly was going through his mind as he looked at him. And it was becoming painstakingly obvious, to himself, that he really did need to talk to him—to clear the air and to finally understand what was going on within the brunet's head.

He wasn't supposed to be the adult—clearly—so he couldn't treat Kyouya the same way.

Even if he was going to appear unprofessional, immature and a little bit odd, he needed to talk to him. They needed to clear the air between them and make it so that the atmosphere in the classroom wasn't going to be any more awkward.

When he was finally teaching Kyouya's class, the atmosphere was tenser than he'd expected. The brunet was still staring at him, and with a shock, Dino realised that Kyouya's friend was, too. Had he been informed about what had happened or was it just a hobby to creep people out? Either way, the blonde averted his eyes and tried to concentrate.

He excused himself when it was getting too much, proclaiming that he'd left an important sheet in the staff room.

"What am I doing?" Dino asked himself, leaning against the wall outside. His mind was jumping to the worst conclusions, all of which were centred around one person in particular. He could just see it; see that his position was in jeopardy and he was going to get fired for having a relationship with a student.

It was only one night with the wrong person, and he was still paranoid.

He plucked a random sheet from the staff room before venturing back, straightening his back before walking back inside.

Apart from the constant staring, Dino did enjoy teaching that class in particular. Some of them weren't all too quick on picking up another language, whilst there were a few rare gems within the seats. Mukuro had mentioned that he didn't particular care about them before, so he'd assumed the worst. Then again, he had known Mukuro for a fair few years to know exactly what he was like.

"Sasagawa," Dino finally sighed, "I can see you practising your punches, you know. I really am looking."

The male protested. "But you don't have eyes on the back on your head."

"I'm a teacher, Sasagawa," he explained with an amused smile. "I just know some things."

And with that, Dino did his best to ignore anything else happening within the class. If something got out of hand, though, he'd shoot the student a look until they finally stopped doing whatever it was they were in the first place.

He wanted to catch Kyouya before the end of class, but for once the brunet walked off with his friend as soon as the class was over. They didn't stick around waiting until the crowd was gone; rather, they were the start of the crowd. Dino packed up any of the lone pieces of paper on his desk and then shuffled down the hallway towards the staff room, and as he did so he decided it was best to talk to Kyouya as soon as possible. If he called for him to stay behind after class, as he had always done so before, it would cause there to be more suspicion about the two of them.

He knew he wouldn't miraculously walk into him in the hallway after class. Their class was almost always the last period of the day, so Dino ran a hand through his blond hair and made a quick detour to the rooftop.

The fresh air was welcome as the wind blew his bangs off of his face. He placed his belongings on the floor, reaching into his pocket for a small pocket.

Lighting a cigarette with ease, he took a drag whilst closing his eyes.

"You're not allowed to smoke up here."

He almost choked on the smoke before turning around to see where the voice had come from. Dino hadn't thought of searching around the rooftop after school hours to see if anyone was there, much less to see if a student had camped out.

"Kyouya," he breathed a sigh of relief. "You're not supposed to be up here, even through school hours."

As he continued to smoke, Kyouya carried on staring at him from across the rooftop. He was settled down on the floor, just behind where the entrance was so it was hard to see him. There was no one else in sight—only the two of them.

"Will you please stop staring at me?" Dino found himself snapping, surprised at how his voiced sounded. "It's all you do whenever we're near each other, and it's really started to get on my nerves."

"You get on my nerves," Kyouya replied bluntly, still settled down beside the railings. "You're always really jumpy."

"Because you _stare _at me."

He raised an eyebrow. "It's my fault?"

"Well, yes." Dino dropped the cigarette on the floor, stomping on it the moment after. "Look, Kyouya, we need to talk."

With a scowl, the brunet corrected him. "_You _need to talk."

"You need to talk, too." Slowly, Dino settled down on the floor beside him and ran a hand through his hair. "When I met you I didn't think you were... you know." He gestured to the school uniform whilst flushing, embarrassment coming easily. "I thought you were over twenty, obviously. I never thought you'd be a student, much less _my _student."

"I wasn't going to correct you."

"It would have been nice if you did." He sighed. "Have you told anyone what happened?"

"I'm... not good with alcohol," Kyouya ground out with a clenched jaw. "And I wouldn't belittle myself by telling others."

Dino cleared his throat and then wondered just how much he remembered about the night they spent together. "I have to apologise to you. I should never have approached you in such a way... I was just under the influence, as were you."

"Okay."

He watched in surprised and amusement as Kyouya's face flamed with colour quickly, although his expression was still one of irritation. He was trying to hide his embarrassment, apparently.

"We had sex," Dino blurted, just from seeing the same blush as that night, "three times."

The colour only increased, as did his irritation. "I didn't need to know that."

"I'm just being honest with you." He breathed in slowly, trying to calm down the nerves he was starting to feel. "As I need you to be with me."

The blush was slowly draining, Dino noted. "I have better things to do then sit around and listen to you confess. Just got to a church."

"I'd probably get shot if I told anyone else about us," Dino announced before realising that he had told someone; only one, but that person happened to be someone Kyouya hated with most of his heart. "...I've told one person, though."

He could see the brunet beside him tense, staring at the wall ahead of them. "Who?"

He's going to hate me, Dino thought. "He, well, told me about what happened between you and him. I know some things that the rest of the teachers don't." Being the coward he was, Dino shifted his gaze to his feet as he clenched one hand. "The teacher I took over from."

It took all but two seconds for Kyouya to put two and two together and realise that it was Mukuro he was referring to. "_Rokudo_?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Dino admitted. "I was waiting for him before I met you, so it seemed only natural to tell him about it. He just... told me about your relationship without me even prodding him to."

"Why would you be friends with _that_?" Disgust was clear in his tone.

"We went to college together." Dino shrugged his shoulders. "He was across the hall from me, so over time we became friends. When he said he was, well, quitting for awhile I took over per his request."

For only a moment, he saw a panicked expression take over Kyouya's face before it was gone, the mask back and firmly in place.

"I'm not like him, Kyouya," he tried to assure him. "I'm not going to force you to be close to me, nor will I fail you unless you truly deserve it."

Kyouya shuffled beside him, as if deciding whether to stand up or not. "You already seem like him."

"We've certainly done more than what you have with Mukuro." He'd tried to crack a joke, but Dino felt his face heating up just from referring to it so casually. "Sorry, that was in poor taste."

"My relationship with Rokudo was purely violent," Kyouya announced another the awkward silence. He was still looking ahead of him, refusing to meet Dino's eyes. "He threatened me, and I threatened him right back. I threw a lot of punches, too."

"I don't want to fight you, then." Dino ran a hand through his hair nervously, as he tried to think of the right words to say. "I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to talk to you, it's just that I'm scared of losing my job already. There _can't _be anything between us, Kyouya. I'd get fired and you'll get in trouble, too."

"I don't have any feelings for you."

"I know." Dino gulped. "My feelings for you are strictly professional. I need this job, Kyouya. I can't screw up on my first try."

"You can screw it up without me," Kyouya replied, taking an defensive tone. He definitely didn't approve of taking all of the blame in the end. "You're a problem for me, too."

The blond tried to find humour in his words. He forced a smile, although it appeared more than strained. "Isn't that what teachers are supposed to do?" he asked, the only funny part being within the flashbacks from when he was a child within his head. Being forced to learn more than two languages had been hard enough, and with a sadistic tutor in the mix it wasn't particularly fun for him growing up. It had all paid off, though. "I'm just going to push you to do well in school." And not into bed any more, he added in his head.

"There's no point." Kyouya tried to appear uninterested, but there was a flicker of something Dino couldn't place within his eyes. Did he _want _to be pushed since none of the other teachers would do it? He'd heard them murmuring in the staff room about the younger male having to attend anger management classes, but he'd never attended. If he needed time out, he'd simply walk out of the room and go home.

There was a chance he was having a hard time being stuck in a place that didn't match his potential. His early tests proved his ability. Kyouya should have been pushed up a few grades or sent abroad to study further, and yet he was there in front of him suffering from the consequences of staying put.

"Why are you attending this school?" Dino asked, discreetly changing to subject to his thoughts. "There's more advanced schools in the area, I'm sure your parents wouldn't be opposed to you transferring."

As soon as the comment had left his lips, Dino could visibly see the younger male tense up. A mask was placed on his face, masking any emotions once again whilst hair covered his eyes. He'd made a slip up again, Dino realised.

He continued, risking his chances. "I know someone that could help. Trust me on this, just for one time, and you'll see."

-x-

"You're finally joining us," M.M. remarked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion as she observed Dino from across the table.

The blonde offered her a shy smile before taking a sip of his glass of juice, choosing to try and make a good impression and stay away from the alcohol. She still eyed him in suspicion, though choosing to chat with the other teachers instead. Ever since he had arrived he learnt that every Friday they all disappeared to a local pub to let off steam and down shots whilst being friendly. There was still the gossip that he'd expected, much like when they were in the staff room on a regular day.

He couldn't remember most of their names, though. They'd all referred to each other with pet names or something rude instead, and all his mind was screaming at him were the insults that Mukuro had said about them instead.

As soon as he heard the first insult fly, he knew that it was M.M. "Really? I would've thought a bitch like you could have handled her alcohol better."

"No!" the girl in question responded, stubbornly crossing her arms over her surprisingly small chest. The school was mostly overrun by female teachers, so sometimes it was no wonder that many males applied for their classes and joined the less prestigious school just for that reason alone. "I will _not _have another shot. Flaming or not, I do _not _want it."

Another female pitched in, her long blue hair hanging over her shoulder and contrasting with the white lace sun dress she was wearing. "Chrome, you seriously suck. You should be able to handle all of your liquids."

"Oh, gross, Bluebell." Chrome, the one who had been referred to rudely before, wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You're making my profession sound dirty."

"Just making it sound as dirty and it is, girl." Bluebell winked.

Dino assumed they were close, watching with interest as they were throwing comments back and forth. They were all still waiting for the rest of the teachers to arrive, and he was feeling outnumbered as the only male there at that moment. There were a few curious stares from the other patrons from their loud outbursts, so to divert the attention from him he excused himself to the bar. They passed him money for drinks and then ushered him on, Chrome still complaining that she didn't want another drink.

He ordered a carbonated drink for himself and then furrowed his brow to try and remember all the oddly named drinks that they'd requested. He counted them off on his fingers, not glancing up at the bartender once.

"All right," they replied to the order, "coming right up."

"Thanks." Dino smiled.

The bartender slid a small cocktail glass towards him before continuing to make the rest. As he was pouring the liquor he asked, "Are you still seeing the small one you bagged last month?"

"Eh?" Dino blinked, repeating the comment in his head to make sure that he had heard correctly. His eyes flashed up to see the mohawk and then the sunglasses perched on top of the bartender's nose, and then he realised exactly why he recognised him. He should have realised sooner, though. He'd been to the bar with Mukuro once since the event.

"Today's not usually my shift." They'd caught his confused expression. "I swapped with a friend. And do you know what? I hope you are, in fact, still seeing that young man."

Another cocktail glass was slid in front of him whilst all the colour went to his face. He wanted to command the male to talk quieter, but words died in his throat.

"I'm rather protective of him, you know. You could say I'm like a replacement mother when his sister is out of town."

Many images flashed before Dino's eyes, but none of them made any sense. If the male in front of him actually was protective of Kyouya then why had he allowed him to walk out of the club or even be seduced right in front of his eyes? Either the bartender was mad or he was bluffing.

"Sure," Dino said, squaring his shoulders. "I'm _still _seeing him." It wasn't a lie; he saw in almost every day in class, sitting either in the back row or beside his green-haired friend.

"Got yourself a boy toy?" M.M. appeared out of nowhere, taking a sip from one of the drinks and scrunching up her facial features. "That's definitely for Chrome. Nice and strong."

Dino kept eye contact with the other male before slipping him the right amount of money, walking back to the table with their drinks and M.M. carrying the rest of them, almost stumbling form her heels.

"Chrome!" she called, setting down the glass in front of her. "It's mostly juice, so just knock it all back in one."

"That's not fair, she's had a hard week!" Bluebell replied, amusement flickering within her cerulean irides. "She had inspectors sitting within most of her lessons, all because of that rumour that was spread."

Chrome leaned forward for a few moments, her shoulder-length violet hair obscuring her expression before she brought the glass to her lips and drank all of the liquid in one go. She stated coughing afterwards, the alcohol burning her throat. "M.M.!" she said accusingly.

M.M. simply smirked, leaning back into the chair. "Yes?"

Curiosity got the better of him. Dino interrupted their conversation before it could fully begin by asking, "What rumour was spread?" Not only did he feel left out of the loop for knowing about the inspectors or the fact that they were there in the school at all, he was scared for his situation. He couldn't mess up already and let everyone know that he was in trouble.

"That idiot Mukuro liked to make fun of her and a student," Bluebell explained, her expression softening as she saw Chrome stiffen. "There were no other teachers available so she volunteered to be the baseball club's manager, and that's where it began."

Mukuro had been the cause of the rumour and he knew far too much about Dino's situation as it was. He gulped and it looked as though he was into the story.

M.M. cut in, nodding her head in agreement. "He always used to make comments in the hallway and the students started joining in, too. It was harmless at first." Harmless until she almost lost her job, he concluded. He scrutinised Chrome with his gaze, dubbing her as not much older than he was—she dressed young, in a short pair of shorts and a ruffled shirt and there were certainly no wrinkles on her face, not even the crows feet by the corner of her eyes. "To put it bluntly, someone higher up paid a visit whilst the students were making fun of their relationship."

"How long ago was this?" Dino looked down at his drink, not being able to look at them in the eyes. Chrome was being scolded for something she hadn't done, and there he was, sitting there and knowing he had done the exact thing. The taboo had been done, and he couldn't take it back.

"How long ago did she become the club's manager? Last year. The surprise visit was a few weeks ago."

He suddenly wished that his drink was alcoholic but couldn't bring himself to go back up to the bar. They changed the topic after that, lightening the mood and proceeding to get even more drunk than before. Once he'd ordered taxis for some of them and then waited for Chrome's friend to pick her up, he did believe the evening was wroth it, though. He acquired the one thing he was out to get: the key to a certain section in the library.

But maybe the vomit on his shoes wasn't quite worth it.

**AN: **I haven't forgotten about this story but it seems that everyone else has. Some of the other teachers are finally named! I can't be bothered to think of a headmaster, though.


End file.
